Oh No He Didn't!

Last nite, David Letterman made a very unwelcome remark about Newark.
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Helen Hunt was his guest, and she was relating a story about her vacation in Hawaii. Her boyfriend was snoring, so she sent him to sleep in another room, where a rat crawled into bed with him and went to "the worst place in the world" (for a rat to bite a man). Letterman, playing coy, quipped (approximate quote), "When you say 'worst place in the world', one generally thinks 'Newark'." That's the way I remember it. The "Wahoo Gazette" on Letterman's own website puts it this way: "Dave says when Helen first said that, he thought she was talking about Newark."
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I didn't laugh.
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If I were the Mayor of Newark — or even a Special Assistant to the Mayor — I would issue an invitation to Letterman to a VIP tour of Newark and urge him to cross the river and bring his show to our fair city for a nite or week of performances from NJPAC. He could have as guests, celebs born or raised in Newark. He might emerge from that experience with a radically changed view of Newark.
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As it is, the remark seems not to have raised an eyebrow nor provoked any reaction from the Mayor, Star-Ledger, News 12 — anybody in position to do anything about reversing the bad impression Letterman's careless remark has contributed to.
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So I sent the following email to the Late Show by feedback form at their website.

Dave's remark about Newark being "the worst place is the world" was very far from funny, and may have harmed the city's revitalization by reinforcing antique and inaccurate misimpressions of the city. I invite someone from the Late Show's staff to visit the website "Resurgence City: Newark USA" (http://members.aol.com/ResurgenceCity) and look at the over 70 photos on that site and many more on linked webpages to see if they depict "the worst place in the world". Perhaps Dave should take his show across the river for a tour of Newark and tape a day or five of shows out of what Clive Barnes called "The nation's most glamorous theater", Prudential Hall in the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark. He could fill those shows with celebrity guests who were born in or have major connections with Newark, like Shaquille O'Neal, Jason Alexander, Queen Latifah, Tisha Campbell, Savion Glover, and Whitney Houston. Perhaps at the end of such an experience, Dave -- and the Nation -- will have a greater appreciation for Gotham's little brother across the Hudson. Cheers.