Michigan, the Nomination Fight, and NASCAR

This is not quite what is meant by "being the NASCAR candidate." Asked today whether he follows NASCAR, Romney said:

Not as closely as some of the most ardent fans, but I have some friends who are NASCAR team owners.

NASCAR Fail

The latest PPP poll has Romney up 2 in MI. I suspect Romney will win a close race in MI on Tuesday night and he'll blow Santorum out in Arizona. What should Santorum do? Santorum should spend some time on Tuesday night asking Republican voters a simple question. "Do you want a candidate who can only win the nomination by tearing others down?" That's what Romney appears to have done again, this time in Michigan. According to PPP, in the last week in MI, Santorum's net favorability has dropped from +44 (67/23) to +15 (54/39).

I'm not being all pollyannish about this. I know negative campaigning is not exclusive to the Romney camp. But I'm not sure I've ever seen a candidate get as far as Romney has on negative campaigning alone. He has no positive message branding. Quick ... what is Romney's economic plan? What's his plan for Afghanistan? I don't know his position on anything. I don't think Republican voters do either. Santorum should ask those questions. What is Mitt Romney for? When will he win a significant state without tearing down everybody else?

The advice is free Rick.