Midwest Politics

"Road trip? Sure, why not," said writer Chris Sloat, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. "Who knows what kind of trouble Kwame can get into in Denver? And at least he'll be somebody else's problem for a week."

"GM won't change anything until they have every operation overseas," says Danny. "This started back in the 1980s with Reagan... We know we're not going to get any help from McCain."

While Gov. Jennifer Granholm has come over strongly to Obama, waving a blue heeled shoe in the air on one occasion, Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer has been conspicuously inarticulate.

In another signal, perhaps, that the country is ready for change, newspapers across the Midwest showed either even-handedness or excitement for an issue that only years ago was considered taboo.

If Obama aims to win without having to carry Florida and Ohio, then Michigan and its 17 electoral votes will be critical, which explains the campaign's preference for staging big announcements there.

In a northern Midwestern town, at my cousin's graduation, I got a glimpse of something remarkable, something that may signal yet more troublesome news to the already troubled regiment of McCain campaign strategists.