Mitt Romney won by a strong margin in Michigan. This is good news for Romney, and a setback for John McCain, for whom victory would have confirmed him as the frontrunner.
It is also good for Mike Huckabee, who benefits from a more open race. It is a particular boost for Rudy Giuliani - whose waiting for Florida strategy risked seeing him look out before he was in. And perhaps the biggest winners are the Democrats.
Romney needed to win to survive. This was a different Romney to that offered in Iowa - with the focus on economics and managerial strengths (a potential USP for his candidacy) rather than the social conservative convictions which he has not held for very long. That suited Michigan well - and Romney made effective use of his 'favourite son' status, his father having been Governor to link to his economic issues.
While Romney's economic argument against McCain was popular in Michigan, it doesn't strike me as credible. McCain said he would tell the truth; that some of the auto and manufacturing jobs would not come back, and the emphasis should be on the skills workers need. It is the argument Bill Clinton used effectively in the 1992 primaries. As his Trade Secretary Robert Reich argued, an effective response to global economic change depends on persuading voters that neither 'save the jobs' (the protectionist left) nor 'let them drown' (the free market right) works. 'Train the workers' is an effective middle
Romney challenged the idea that some of these jobs won't be comong back as defeatist. From the self-styled inheritor of the Reagan coalition, this is pure opportunism.
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