Turn of the screwed

Poor little rich guy Willard Romney. He was the inevitable nominee. Everybody said it was supposed to his turn. The Big Mitten should have been his for the taking. But on the eve of the vote, Nate Silver says the latest polling shows the Michigan primary is back to a toss-up.

He probably should have pulled a Palin and just avoided public appearances. It could only have helped because to know him is clearly not to like him. Every time he tries to go all man of the people, his inner multi-millionaire slips out. Take for his instance Romney's little side trip to the Daytona 500.

Asked by the AP reporter if he follows NASCAR, Romney responded, "Not as closely as some of the most ardent fans. But I have some great friends who are NASCAR team owners."

The mockery writes itself. I mean who among us isn't BFF with the owner of a NASCAR team? Meanwhile, say what you will about Little Ricky, he gets how to exploit that demo. Santorum is just a lowly NASCAR sponsor. Don't know how much that costs, but he got his name plastered on the ass end of a race car. Which seems appropriate in too many ways.

Small wonder, whether you want to call it brokered, or call it contested, establishment GOPers clamoring for a crazed convention that would allow a latecomer to take up the checkered flag are growing faster than the last lap of the Daytona. [graphic via]

[More posts daily at the Detroit News.]