And it looks more and more like the administration was caught completely off guard and unprepared... again.  Howes continues:

There was Comerica Inc.'s stunning decision last March to abandon its hometown after some 150 years and move its top 200 executives to Dallas, allegedly to boost the value of its share price as a hedge against a possible takeover.

And there was Pfizer Inc.'s call to close its research facilities in Ann Arbor, a bitter rebuke to Granholm's efforts to jump-start Michigan's economy with so-called "knowledge jobs."

The sobering reality of Michigan, circa 2007, is that more and more corporate players don't want any part of the state's long, dark slide because they fear it will pull them down, too.

Of course no one's blaming the governor.  Least of all the state's Democrats.  This, like everything else, is a result of those bums in Washington, D.C. who don't take Michigan seriously or pay attention to our problems.  

That's why it's so refreshing to have a new POTUS race featuring Michigan as the first state to hold a primary in the entire land.  Candidates will all be jokeying for the chance to pay attention to the state.  Well, Republican candidates.  The Democrats still aren't coming.  And in a new twist on the blame game, MDP is doing their darndest to convince you that it's not the candidates who are at fault for signing pledges not to step foot in the state to campaign.  Oh no.  They're not responsible for their own actions or their own campaigns.  The Associated Press reports:

Michigan Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer said Iowa and New Hampshire - not the Democratic candidates - would be to blame if his state is flooded with Republican presidential candidates but their Democratic counterparts are nowhere to be found.

"That problem is created by Iowa and New Hampshire extorting candidates," he said. "When you get rid of that monopoly, you stop that."

...The Iowa Democratic Party would not respond to Brewer's remarks.

Lets not forget, while we're on the subject, that the Republican candidates are dealing with a very similar situation at the RNC.  National Republicans have indicated they may cut Michigan's delegate count in half because of our move to an earlier date.  

The GOP candidates' response?  To a person it's been "so?"  They're here.  They're coming.  They're asking for votes.  They're looking moms and dads in the eye.  They're looking at Michigan's unique problems.  They're hearing our unique concerns.  They're paying attention and they care.

While the Dems sign pledges not to talk to Michigan voters.  Not to pay attention to our issues.  Not to look us in the eye.  Not to ask for our votes.  Oh, but they'll still ask for our money.

You've got one party's candidates telling the rule makers in the back rooms to can it because they've got a bigger boss... the voters.  You've got another party's candidates telling the party bosses in the smoke filled cloak rooms in DC "yes sir" and "no sir," abandoning Michigan voters to satisfy the big wigs that pull the strings.

What a difference a party makes, huh?  

Oh, but it's Iowa's fault.  And New Hampshire's.  

Unless those states got together and created some sort of fancy doomsday machine that can zap people and remove their free will, making them puppets of Howard Dean and the DNC that argument doesn't hold much water, Mark.

One tragedy that even Jennifer Granholm would be hard pressed laying at Iowa's feet is Matthew Macon's recent Lansing killing spree.  Afraid this one's solely a Michigan problem.  And a problem that could get much worse under the current administration's standards should they get their way with early release, cutting thousands of potential Matt Macon's loose on the streets.  

The Detroit Free Press reports this morning that the DOC might not have the most stringent policies when considering who's a good prospect for parole:

Serial murder suspect Matthew Macon was considered low risk with a record of good behavior, no need for psychological treatment and having a supportive family in the community when he was paroled from prison June 26.

The state Parole Board took a burglary he committed while on parole in 2005, other parole violations and a lengthy juvenile record into consideration when it granted Macon his third parole, said Department of Corrections spokesman Russ Marlan.

And these are the people we trust to determine who is and isn't a good candidate for early release?  Why don't I find that comforting?