Lansing, Michigan mayor Virg Bernero announces his gubernatorial run on CNN's "American Morning."

When the national economic meltdown brought Michigan's auto industry to its knees, Virg Bernero didn't stand on the sidelines. He stood up and took Michigan's fight to the national airwaves, quickly becoming Michigan's strongest voice and most ardent defender of our auto industry and workers. In dozens of national news appearances, Bernero took on the likes of Bill O'Reilly, Neil Cavuto, Peter Schiff and a host of other pundits and personalities on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, C-Span, CBC, Bloomberg News and more.

In our featured video (at left), Virg talks with CNN's John Roberts about the federal stimulus plan, telling the American Morning anchor: "It's hilarious to hear Senators talk about oversight when it comes to spending money. We're accountable at the local level... We're not in Washington with our head in the clouds. We need that infrastructure money, we need the investment, and the American worker needs investment and commitment. These are the people that gave away the store. Give me a break, these are the folks who colluded with Wall Street to create this mess, that shipped our jobs overseas. And now they are going to lecture us about accountability? Please."

Dozens of Virg's national interviews are available on YouTube, including his now famous smackdown of hapless Fox News personality Greg Jarrett, who was nearly speechless in the face of Bernero's impassioned defense of Michigan workers and our auto industry. The YouTube video of Virg's Fox News appearance went viral, attracting more than a half-MILLION views and over 2,000 comments from across the country and around the world. A selection of Bernero's YouTube videos are available in our embedded YouTube player at left.