"I really like Michigan, the trees are just the right size."
The bizarre thing is HE KEEPS SAYING IT.
I don't know why Romney is so goddamn nervous in Michigan, considering he is from Michigan. I don't even know why he's bothering to campaign there. The state is such a solid slam dunk for him that he'd be better served spending his resources elsewhere.
...for those of you just joining us...
I can't see Romney winning Michigan again after that "Let Detroit go bankrupt" talk.
Doubling down is probably the best option he's left himself (he can't ignore it and if he tries to back off it'll just feed into the flip-flopper narrative) but it still won't do him any favors.
Heard him on the radio ranting about UAW and unions in general. At a rally in Detroit.
...is this guy actually from Michigan?
Because I've never actually BEEN to Michigan, but it strikes ME as a bad idea to rant about the autoworkers union in Detroit.
Santorum has been running in a dead heat with Romney in Michigan for weeks. He wrote an op-ed in the New York Times in 2008 titled "
Let Detroit Go Bankrupt". That is not a paraphrase, it is not a misquote, it is not a sentence fragment taken from somewhere in the middle of the article. It is the actual title of a thing that he wrote and had printed in the biggest paper in the country. Since everybody voting in the Michigan Primary is aware of this, he has been forced to constantly defend the op-ed and repeatedly restate why he thinks Detroit should have been allowed to go bankrupt.
If Romney DOES manage to pull Michigan out, it is a combination of three factors:
1. Yes, he WAS in fact born there and his father was governor;
2. The same reason he's been the frontrunner all along: because every other person running is completely batshit fucking crazy;
and 3. Because yes he HAS been aggressively campaigning there, which he needs to do in order to save his bacon and not lose his own damn home state.
...anyway. Let's take a look at my predictions:
Ugh. Now we have to pretend this is a two-man race at least through Super Tuesday.
I was actually referring to Gingrich, but I guess this one technically still holds.
Coming races are going to be boring. Mostly Romney - Gingrich - Paul - Santorum. That's certainly how I expect Arizona to go, short of Gingrich crashing and burning hard enough to fall behind Paul.
Well, clearly I was dead-nuts wrong on this one; I thought Santorum's fifteen minutes were up and Newt's weren't yet. And that the hardcore Paul vote would keep him out of last place.
Anyway. Per this coming Tuesday:
Romney will win Arizona handily. Michigan is too close to call; I'm still inclined to call it for Santorum because seriously, "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt"? But Romney could still pull it out; the latest polls show him up a few points.
Super Tuesday? Dunno, haven't been paying attention; don't even remember who votes in it offhand. But hopefully it'll finally winnow the race down to Romney and we can stop talking about fucking Santorum.