OBAMA IN TROUBLE IN MICHIGAN – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  Winning industrial Michigan in next year's election is close to a necessity for President Obama if he plans to keep his current residence and phone number.  But he is currently behind Mitt Romney in that state.  From The Hill: 

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leads President Obama in Michigan, according to a new poll.

Romney, whose father was governor of the Wolverine State, leads Obama in a head-to-head matchup by 46 percent to 42 percent, within the survey's four-point margin of error.

Michigan is likely a must-win for Obama. He took 57 percent of the vote there in the 2008 presidential race after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) gave up on the state and pulled out resources a month before the election. But a brutal local economy has hurt Obama with Independents: in the poll, he trails Romney 42 percent to 31 percent with that key group.

Another worrying trend for the president: Detroit, the anchor of any Democratic coalition in the state, has continued to hemorrhage people, losing a quarter of its population since 2000. The state's African-American population has also dropped significantly.

The poll of 600 likely voters was conducted from July 9 to July 11 by the Lansing-based EPIC/MRA.

COMMENT:  True, the name Romney is familiar in Michigan.  Mitt's father not only was governor, but had been CEO of the now-defunct American Motors Corporation.  I suspect, though, that any solid Republican can do well in the state because of its economic condition and the failure of Democrats to help much.

Consider a Perry-Rubio ticket.  Texas Governor Rick Perry can go to Michigan with his superb record of job creation in Texas, a record bound to impress a state with severe unemployment.  If his running mate is Marco Rubio of Florida, that state can be sewn up for the GOP, and it is the largest of the swing states.  Not a bad start for the GOP.  Perry-Rubio is starting to sound awfully good.

July 20, 2011