And today, like every other day between the time Cherry embraced his own record of failure, we learn that things are worse than we thought and only getting worse.  Today's little black thunder clouds come courtesy of the Ivory Tower which breaks the news that healthcare coverage for Michiganders is dwindling at twice the national rate since Granholm-Cherry team first took the oath of office, and minorities are worse off than anyone else.

The number of people without insurance... grew, particularly among those ages 35 to 64 and those without a college education, the report found. Black and Hispanic people are disproportionally affected, the report said...

53.4% of workers had health insurance through their employers in 2006, compared with 55.8% nationwide. In 2000, 63.9% of Michigan workers had employer coverage, compared with 59.3% nationwide.

African-American and Hispanic children and adults younger than 65 were overrepresented in 2006 among those without insurance. Nearly 24% of black Michiganders, who comprise 15.5% of the state's population, were uninsured. And 6.6% of Hispanics, who are 3.9% of the state's population, were uninsured.

Again, Cherry's words earlier this month... "I think (Jennifer Granholm)'s got a strong record."

I know 10.5% of the Michigan workforce (those still fortunate enough to have a job in the first place) who lost their health insurance under your watch, John, who might disagree.

Then again, it could be worse.  Cherry could be running for Governor in the state that claim's Detroit and her worsening problems as it's own.  Wait.  Nevermind.

The Detroit News reports that massive budget shortfalls are going to force the new Democratic administration (taking over for the OLD Democratic administration, which took over from another Democratic administration, which took over for another Democratic administration, which... well, you get the picture...) to make some ugly choices.

When Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr. wields the financial ax to deal with the city's deficit, he is likely to rely on a combination of cutting jobs, closing parks and recreation centers, and raising revenue by the continued sell-off of city assets and a retooled lease of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel...

Some experts question whether Detroit's finances are too far gone for Cockrel to right the financial ship.

"To me, the numbers are just mind-boggling," said Edward Rago, a former Detroit budget director who is a municipal financial consultant. "I don't know what anyone in their right mind can do."

One can only hope the reporter advised Mr. Rago not to look to Lansing for anyone "in their right mind."  Out at the state Capitol he'll only find partisan administrators and elected officials who claim to be proud of what's happened in the motor city these last six-plus years.

Then again, he probably shouldn't look anywhere in Detroit, either.  The voters there are only going to hope for a different result while electing the same cast of characters all over again.  That's the classic definition of something quite different than right mindedness.