How do Republican presidential candidates woo the beleaguered voters of what may now be a crucial primary state?
Party like aristocrats! By Michael Scherer Sep. 24, 2007 | Despite the constant efforts of men with shovels, the road to the Grand Hotel, one of America’s oldest resorts, stinks of manure dropped by the horses drawing carriages. This is an island without cars or right of passage. Those pedestrians who have not paid $400 or so for a room cannot even walk near the hotel. “This is as far as you can go,” bark guards in red jackets. A nearby sign explains that ladies “may not be attired in slacks” and gentlemen must wear coats and ties after 6 p.m. On its face, this is not the sort of place that Republicans would want to hold a two-day, four-meal banquet celebration of democracy, especially if they want to win any elections in Michigan. The blue-collar state, which is locked in a recession, has the highest unemployment rate in the nation, 7.2 percent. Homes are foreclosing in Detroit at five times the national average, and the state government is broke. As of a week ago, 73,000 employees of
