I hadn’t thought of the negative ad angle to this. McCain pulls out, then the 3rd party ads fly through the state with very negative ads and McCain can say “hey, we pulled out of MI”..then if the polls turn, McCain/Palin can make a push in the last 2 weeks. It also shifts ground forces to other states.
Interesting.
That is a very interesting theory, but I think there is a dose of reality involved as well. Michigan is blue state. The Detroit vote alone can wipe out the rest of the state and that doesn’t also factor in the heavy union presence throughout the state and the large number of college towns. It’s a daunting task to overcome for any Repblican, even with just how bad things have gone under the Democrats. No Republican since Engler or Abraham in the late 90’s have won statewide. McCain also has taken a few positions against the auto industry crowd that have hurt him. I think Michigan might become more of a target going forward as things get worse and more residents flee to other states, but right now I just don’t think it’s a smart investment for McCain’s resources. Ohio, Wisconsin, and Minnesota are much better targets, in my opinion. People tend to forget that Bush lost Wisconsin by only 11,000 votes in 2004 (out of nearly 3 million votes cast) and by only 5,000 votes in 2000 (out of nearly 2.6 million votes cast). And Ohio could always use more attention. The ball game is over for McCain if he loses Ohio and Florida.