Campaign Voices: Bloggers, Reporters Around U.S. Focus on Michigan Showdown

Michigan is the main stage of presidential politics now and today's headline events star Mitt Romney and Rick Snyder in Farmington Hills and Rick Santorum in Detroit. Here's a sampling of fresh national and local observations:

• Santorum in Detroit: "He got his message right for a business crowd (Thursday at the Detroit Economic Club), touting a plan to rescue manufacturing with massive tax breaks, cutting capital gains taxes and topping off the income tax rate at 28 percent for individuals." – Nolan Finley, editorial page editor, blogging at The Detroit News

• Metro Detroit roots: "[Romney] is trying to regain his home advantage by emphasizing his Michigan roots -- never mind that he has lived in five states since he left Michigan and his primary home now is listed outside of Boston." -- Shikha Dalmia, former Detroit News editorial writer blogging at Reason.com
• Working-class appeal: "Santorum is using his upbringing in the western Pennsylvania manufacturing town of Butler, his rougher-edged style and his 'Made in America' proposals for boosting U.S. manufacturing to woo Michigan's many blue-collar voters." – Alan Fram, politics writer, Huffington Post
• Young Romney fan: "He is the future of the United States. We need a businessman and not a politician. His work in the private sector proves itself." --- Donald Randazzo, Grand Valley State University junior quoted by Mlive.com
• Oakland resident says: "As a president, would Mitt Romney really understand most of his constituents? A president has to try and represent everyone, not just a few." – Michael J. Bauer, Commerce Township, commenting at Mlive.com
• GM, Chrysler help: “Michigan very uniquely believes that the impact (of federal aid) on the auto industry was positive, and that it was a necessary act, and Mitt Romney has a challenge to try and explain his position against doing that." -- Bernie Porn, Lansing pollster at EPIC-MRA, quoted by Bloomberg Business Week
• Region's first delegates: "Romney's attempt at repositioning himself (is) a particularly acute task in this state, the first in the industrial Midwest to award delegates." – Paul West, politics writer, Los Angeles Times
• Impact of primary: "While a loss here might doom Romney's candidacy, a victory will assure him neither the GOP nomination nor a general election victory." – Brian Dickerson, columnist, Detroit Free Press
• Homecoming cloud: "Mitt Romney’s Michigan homecoming as its native son is not going quite the way he had planned. . . . Michigan now represents a critical proving ground for the remaining Republicans, but particularly for Mr. Romney. A loss could prove devastating at worst, and embarrassing at the very least." – Ashley Parker, politics writer, The New York Times
• No spin possible: "The Romney campaign has done little or nothing to control expectations for their performance in Michigan. . . . But then, there was never really going to be a good way to spin a loss or a squeaker in Romney's home state. . .  If Romney is only around 30 percent with all his name ID, family history and establishment support, then he might have trouble getting the rest of the way home." – Alexander Burns, Politico.com blog post
• Retiree says: "I voted for his dad [George Romney]. Right now, I’m still undecided if I’m going to vote for him." -- Jerome Bush, 81, after shaking Romney’s hand Wednesday in Kentwood, MI (quoted by Mlive.com)