Who are the scheduling wizards who picked the same time as the Backyard Brawl

A group calling itself "The Our Country Deserves Better" PAC is trying to make up for John McCain's decision to abandon Michigan and is conducting a bus tour with 10 stops in Michigan.

The next to last stop will be a rally in my backyard on Saturday at the Mill Pond in downtown Brighton at 3:30 p.m. I do agree with the bus tour's premise that our country deserves better, especially after eight disastrous years of Bush "leadership," but it will not get it with Bush clone Grampy McSame.

As just one more example of how out of touch McSame and his supporters are, I kind of doubt they will get that big a crowd. I would be there just to show my support for Sen. Barack Obama, but I will be sitting in my Lazy-Boy chair in Howell at 3:30 watching the kick-off of the Michigan-Michigan State football game at the Big House. I suspect quite a few of my fellow Michiganders will do doing likewise. It makes you wonder who schedules that stuff.

If you want to see a real bus tour, today is the last day to see the National Bush Legacy Bus Tour when it rolls into Ann Arbor from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at South State Street and South University.

You would expect the McSame tour will find a big crowd in predominantly Livingston County, but a couple of recent stories in the local daily are showing Obama is leading McSame in raising money in GOP-rich Livingston County.

The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus reported another story that says Obama has increased his money lead, raising some $53,000 compared to McCain's $39,000 from November 2006 through Oct. 1, 2007. In the earlier story, county GOP chair Allan Filip used the ridiculous excuse that Obama is charging for yard signs. With a bigger money difference this time, Filip dropped that ridiculous excuse and has found another alibi. I know his job is to spin bad news like this – and like the news yesterday that the EPIC/MRA poll shows Obama's lead in Michigan has increased by 14 points –but give me a beak. At one point does spin become a lie?

This time Filip used the excuse that most county Republicans probably gave more money to Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. That may be true, but he is, of course, ignoring how close the race and how late it went between Obama and Democratic Presidential Candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton. That race went all the way to April, and like Romney, she won in Michigan; granted, Obama's name was not on the ballot, but technically she won.

Speaking of former Republican Massachusetts Governors, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld endorsed Obama, citing the senator's steady leadership, good judgment and ability to unify Democrats, Republicans and independents. Weld was governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997. In fact, Weld campaigned for the Mittster before he yielded to McSame in February.

Weld joins other prominent Republicans endorsing Obama over McSame in the campaign's final weeks, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson and Scott McClellan, former press secretary to President Bush.

The choice of Romney as VP to help win Michigan should be a bust

Now that Barack Obama has chosen Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate, attention and speculation has shifted to who Grampy McSame will choose as a running mate.

The early favorite was Paris Hilton for a number of obvious reasons, including she has a much better energy plan than McSame. My source who said Paris was the one was obviously mistaken. There was then speculation that he would choose a pro-choice Republican – which is as rare as snow in July – such as Tom Ridge or Democrat turncoat Joe Lieberman. However, the extreme conservative rightwing element of the party that controls the Grand Oil Party went berserk, and it appears very unlikely that will occur.

However, many people have speculated a pro-choice candidate was never seriously considered, and that was just a ploy by McSame for the extremists to be able to swallow Mitt "Who Let the Dogs Out" Romney as the choice for VP. Romney is a Mormon, and that does not sit well with the extremist evangelicals that have hijacked the GOP. A candidate's religion should play zero role in an election, but this is the GOP.

Before Romney can be named as the VP, his staff is busy trying to find out how many homes he owns.

The conventional wisdom is that Romney, the son of former Michigan Gov. George Romney, will help win the swing state of Michigan that has not gone for a Republican presidential candidate since 1988. To anyone who watched the debates between McSame and Romney it was very clear the two could not even stand to be in the same room together, but the one thing McSame has proved over the years is that he will say anything, do anything, flip-flop on any position and cozy up to anyone that will help him win what he calls the "prize." After all, he embraced Bush/Rove after they smeared and attacked his family in the 2000 primary.

Romney won the GOP Presidential primary here in January, and I hear Republicans claim Romney as a hometown boy. That’s' a stretch, and if that was the case why was he the Governor of Massachusetts and not Michigan?

He was born here and went to high school here, but that was only because that was where his parents lived. In other words, he had no other choice but to live here with his parents. The first time he had a choice to live in Michigan after he graduated from high school, he said no thanks. At anytime he could have moved back here. He has a brother that stayed, why not Mitt?

To say he is Michigan's favorite son is simply not true.

McCain continues to rack up important Michigan endorsements

Sen. John McCain picked up some interesting endorsements last week in Michigan, including prominent state newspapers and Michigan politicians.

Polls show McCain and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney are neck-and-neck here as the primary fast approaches. McCain already won the nod of Michigan’s two largest newspapers with the endorsement of the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, and on Sunday he added the Jackson Citizen Patriot and the Livingston County Daily Press and Argus to the endorsement tally.

The Citizen Patriot said this about McCain, “Fundamentally, he is a straight shooter who has stood by our involvement in Iraq and the need for immigration reform even if it has cost him votes.” The Citizen Patriot is owned by Advance Publications, the same company that owns the Ann Arbor News, the Bay City Times, the Flint Journal, the Grand Rapids Press, the Kalamazoo Gazette, the Muskegon Chronicle and the Saginaw News.

The Press & Argus endorsement is not surprising because it is owned by Gannett, which also owns the Detroit Free Press. The P & Argus said McCain “is a solid conservative whose views resonate with Livingston County Republicans. He is a pragmatic, tested politician who will forge necessary alliances, whether with Democrats when bipartisan solutions are needed or with other nations in battling terrorism.”

McCain also picked up the endowments of one of Michigan’s most respected political leaders on Thursday with the announcement that former Gov. William G. Milliken is endorsing him. Milliken also endorsed McCain in 2000 that helped put McCain over the top in Michigan against then Texas Gov. George W. Bush. Milliken is respected among moderates of both political parties.

According to a column written by syndicated columnist George Weeks – a former Milliken press secretary- in Milliken's hometown paper the Traverse City Record Eagle, Milliken had this to say about McCain, "I have long admired Senator McCain for his straight talk and service to the country. There's a real sense of integrity in the firm positions he takes, even though they are not always popular. I don't agree with him on all issues, but I like his well-earned reputation of saying what he means, and meaning what he says."

Milliken served as the Michigan governor from 1969 to 1982. He served as Lt. Governor with former Gov. George Romney, Mitt Romney’s father, from 1964-1969 until the senior Romney resigned to run for the Republican nomination for President in 1969. The endorsement of someone who served with his father cannot bode well for the junior Romney.

Livingston County’s Michigan Legislative delegation is split on their endorsements. A letter to the editor in the P & A co-signed by state Sen. Valde Garcia, Rep. Joe Hune, as well as the chair of the Livingston County Republican Party and the county sheriff, endorses Romney.

But an even more bizarre letter to the editor appeared in the P & A from Rep. Chris Ward, R-Genoa Township endorsing McCain. The apparent flip-flop has Ward apparently flopping back to McCain.

Ward was one of four state representatives from Michigan to serve as legislative co-chairs of the McCain campaign in September 2006, and Ward was also named co-chair of the Straight Talk America Michigan Legislative Advisory Team. But Ward announced in June 2007 he was resigning from the McCain Campaign and switching his allegiance to former actor and lobbyist Fred Thompson.

It’s unclear why Ward changed his mind, and in the letter Ward says, “His (McCain’s) stand on immigration made me shift my support to former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn. Michigan independents and Republicans need to get to the polls on Tuesday and give John McCain a big victory. Our country would benefit from his leadership.”

McCain campaigning hard for Michigan Presidential Primary

Republican Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., will maintain a solid presence in Michigan leading up to the Jan. 15 Michigan Presidential Primary.

Cindy Pine, the Hamburg Township Supervisor and the former chair of the Livingston County Republican Party, said McCain’s “Straight Talk Express” will land at 2 p.m. Jan. 13 at the Crystal Gardens Banquet Center, 5768 E. Grand River Ave., in Livingston County’s Genoa Township for a town hall meeting that’s free and open to the public.

McCain is coming off of a respectable fourth place finish in the Iowa caucuses with 13 percent of the vote, and many pundits are calling it a victory for McCain. McCain spent very little time or money in Iowa, instead focusing on the New Hampshire primary set for Tuesday. The surprise win by Mike Huckabee over Mitt Romney- the son of former Michigan Gov. George Romney - in the Iowa caucuses may be a good thing for McCain, who decided several months ago to stake his entire campaign on New Hampshire, where he is ahead of Romney in the polls.

It was not too long ago that McCain was falling like a rock in the polls, and supporters were jumping off the Straight Talk Express like rats from a sinking ship. We have seen that scenarios play out right here in Michigan, which may make McCain’s Michigan visits interesting.

Here in Livingston County, Rep. Chris Ward, R-Brighton, was named as one of four state representatives from Michigan to serve as legislative co-chairs of the McCain campaign way back in September of 2006, and Ward was also named co-chair of the Straight Talk America Michigan Legislative Advisory Team. But Ward announced in June of last year he was backing off of his previous endorsement of McCain for the Republican Presidential nomination and switching his allegiance to former actor and lobbyist Fred Thompson; before Thompson was even running.

In September Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox announced he was resigning his post as Michigan chairman of McCain's presidential campaign.

McCain has had past success in Michigan, winning the 2000 Michigan Presidential Primary over then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush, despite an almost guarantee of a Bush victory and endorsement by former Michigan Gov. John Engler. McCain just recently picked up a Michigan victory of sorts, receiving the endorsement of one of Michigan’s largest daily newspapers, the Detroit News.

But there is also some opposition to McCain in Michigan. The Michigan State University chapter of Young Americans for Freedom is planning to demonstrate against McCain's immigration policies when he appears for a town hall meeting at 4 p.m. Jan. 13 at the MSU Kellogg Center, 55 South Harrison Rd. in East Lansing. The MSU YAF has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Other Michigan appearances by McCain include: a Grand Rapids rally and town hall meeting at 10:15 Jan. 9 a.m. at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Northern Jet Management, 5500 44th Street SE.

A Macomb town hall meeting 10:45 a.m. Jan. 12 at the Andiamo Celebrity Showroom, 7096 Fourteen Mile Rd. in Wayne.

An Oakland town hall meeting 3:30 p.m. Jan. 12 at the Clawson High School Trojan Hall, 101 John M Ave.

A Battle Creek town hall meeting 7:30 p.m. Jan. 13 at the Burnham-Brook Center, 200 West Michigan Ave.

A Kalamazoo town hall meeting, 9:45 a.m. Jan. 14 at Kalamazoo Christian High School, 2121 Stadium Dr.

A Holland town hall meeting 12:15 p.m. Jan. 14 at the Hope College DeWitt Theater, 141 Columbia Ave.

A Spring Lake get out the vote rally and town hall meeting, 4 p.m. Jan. 14 at the Nichols Company, 1391 Judson Rd. in Spring Lake.

A Kent County get out the vote rally, 5:30 p.m. Jan. 14 at the Kent County Republican headquarters, 264 Leonard St. NW in Grand Rapids.

A Traverse City get out the vote rally 8n a.m. Jan. 15 at Northwestern Michigan College Hagerty Place, 715 East Front St.