If you want to make friends in Michigan, the secret is to hold up your right hand in the in the universal “stop” gesture, popularized by Motown staple the Supremes, and announce to the crowd around you that “Michigan is a Mitt.” Its catchy…well, anywhere except at last night’s Ron Paul rally on the UMich Diag, where Ron Paul is beating Obama as the students’ top choice for President–one kid even told me this morning that he’s never seen that many people for an anti-war protest, let alone a campaign rally, and thats saying a lot, considering that Ann Arbor can turn out dread-locked Peace Drum circles like the best of ‘em.
The general feeling is, despite our statewide devotion to all things Romney, it didn’t matter who won or lost, but rather that someone (let alone nine someones) showed up to audition for the part of President. Democrats have been noticeably absent since signing a declaration to avoid Michigan as punishment for our conspiracy to move up the primary, and late yesterday, minutes after the Republican debate finished, five major Democratic candidates announced that they won’t be on the primary ballot in Michigan. Having Republicans available to chat about economic policy, trade and unions was comforting, particularly since dissatisfaction with Democratic leadership is pretty pervasive these days (recall petitions for Gov. Granholm– who shares Hillary’s penchant for pantsuits as well as big government–were everywhere, both in Dearborn and Ann Arbor thanks to the National Taxpayers Union). The top news is the dichotomy between the two parties: who’s making an effort to rally Michigan’s populace, and who’s avoiding the topic altogether.
It does make me a little concerned however, when we’re talking about knights in shiny blue suits, we’re including Ron Paul. But if we’re not talking about Hillary…maybe thats okay?