Michigan & the GOP Presidential Debate - In the Thick of It!

Oakland University - Rochester, Michigan - Michigan is in the thick of it! Oakland University is in the thick of it! In about an hour, Americans hooked on the 2012 presidential campaign will turn their attention to CNBC-TV and the Great Lakes State. This is where eight Republican Party candidates running to become U.S. President will debate.

The marquis in the “press filing room” makes the occasion clear: YOUR MONEY…YOUR VOTE! The Republican Presidential Debate… November 9, 2011. Oakland University has never looked better! And remember, it’s in the backyard of veteran GOP leader L. Brooks Patterson. As Brooks frequently reminds everyone, “Oakland County is the engine that drives Michigan’s economy.” Holding this important political event here is no accident. For decades, this county has been a Michigan Republican stronghold. Remember Congressmen Bill Broomfield and Joe Knollenberg? Together, they brought home a lot of federal dollars over many, many years. During their years in Congress, they presided over a powerful Michigan GOP pipeline to our nation’s seat of government. In short, the presidential candidates stop here tonight is a nice nod to a county and state that is in the thick of the 2012 presidential slugfest.

If Michigan GOP leaders get what they want tonight, the debate will focus on jobs, America’s unemployment rate, and the nation’s see-saw economy. They’ll want the candidates to beat up on President Barack Obama, not each other. Fat chance! A winner must first emerge from this pack of eight and that will require these men and women to poke holes in each other’s campaigns before doing battle with the man who now occupies the White House.

Candidate Herman Cain and his trail of alleged sexual harassment cases is the flavor for this week. What everyone will be waiting to see is how much time will be spent on this controversy and how well will Cain hold up under the weight of accusations that seem to be coming from every direction? Is Herman Cain really ready for primetime and the top spot on the GOP ticket? He too is in the thick of it!

In 1858, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, the Republican and Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate from Illinois, held seven famous debates. Today’s GOP presidential candidates have held far more. But when all is said and done, will this campaign to become the most powerful political leader in the free world, be long remembered for the outcome of the important 2012 election? If so, Michigan and Oakland County can take its rightful place in presidential political history. Get ready. Tonight, Michigan is in the thick of the race for president.