From the little I know of his long-term record, he at least seems to be a social conservative, and at least somewhat of a fiscal conservative.  As others mentioned, there was a 'yea' vote on the bailout, and my feelings are mixed there as well.  On the other hand, he was the only Michigan vote against the "mandatory volunteerism" bill which recently passed in the house.  That's a plus in my book.  I was actually surprised that no mention of that bill was made on this site (that I saw, anyway).  I would have enjoyed reading the local perspective on it...