Good piece on the Governor from Christoff. Usually these puff stories make my teeth hurt with the overbearing sweetness (make her a saint already!), but Chris takes a realistic approach.
On the campaign trail, Gov. Jennifer Granholm appears unaffected by the weight of four years in office. She exudes energy and optimism that might seem at odds with a state economy made fragile by a floundering auto industry.
In a gubernatorial campaign that has seen record money spent on TV advertising, much of it negative, Granholm displays both the personal touch that attracted so many to her four years ago, and a sharper edge honed by experience.
Her admirers call her dynamic, smart and driven. Detractors call her a good actress without a plan.
Those close to her say she's fundamentally unchanged from the idealistic Harvard Law School graduate who was elected attorney general in 1998 -- her first public office -- although she's battle tested after four years of jousting with a Republican-led Legislature.
"She is wiser," said Lt. Gov. John Cherry, who served 20 years in the Legislature. "I think she's seen things that she perhaps didn't expect. There was a greater degree of partisanship than she expected. I think that she's learned that she has to look beyond her expectations."
Cherry added, "She's a trusting individual. She has a very positive orientation. She takes people at their word. Sometimes, people aren't as trustworthy as you'd hope they would be."
All my months of babbling here are nothing compared to seeing her in person. Everything they say is true.
This week, Granholm has traveled around the state by bus, telling crowds what she's doing to get Michigan rolling.
And she's kept her sense of humor.
"In November, you're going to be blown away!" she exhorted a laughing, cheering Democratic crowd in Jackson this week. It was a takeoff on Republican TV ads that mock her for her dramatic declaration: "In five years, you're going to be blown away" in her State of the State speech.
Even critics concede that Granholm is one of the best political speakers to come along in Michigan in a long time.
"I really never saw her in person before, but I do think she is more active, more vibrant, more outgoing. I think Jennifer Granholm has improved over the years," gushed Pat Walworth, 64, a retiree from Swartz Creek who attended a recent rally in Flint, where Granholm appeared with U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.
Like any governor, Granholm is often surrounded by adoring crowds and well-wishers. Mulhern said it hasn't gone to her head.
He said his wife has a built-in "crap detector" that puts praise in perspective.
"There's a real Scandinavian sense of don't think you're so important, don't kid yourself, don't take yourself seriously," Mulhern said.
Take it from one of the world's biggest cynics, it's not crap. She is the real deal, and people can see that, feel that. You leave feeling enthused about life.
And I want to see some of those sketches.
Granholm has been blogging about this bus trip, and I'm starting to think they should call it the "Putting Michigan Food First Express". Go read and you will see what I mean. ;-)