From McCain: The Tampa Tribune On Mitt Romney: "Michigan Likes Sugarcoated Message"

It was more pandering from a candidate who always seems eager to please. Romney is a smart businessman. He knows the U.S. auto industry will never regain its former glory. But he didn't level with his Michigan supporters." -- The Tampa Tribune
Excerpts From "Michigan Likes Sugarcoated Message"
EditorialTampa TribuneJanuary 17, 2008
Straight talk didn't pay off for John McCain in Michigan. But he still told voters there what they needed to hear.
While campaigning for Tuesday's Michigan primary, Republican candidate McCain told a crowd in Lavonia: "Michigan has a bright future, but it will not be reached attempting to recreate the past."
The eventual primary winner, Mitt Romney, had a different message, claiming he was the only Republican candidate "that's got the automobile industry in my blood veins." He was born in the state and his late father, George, was chairman of American Motors Corp. and a three-term Michigan governor.
Romney called McCain's comments heartless and promised to bring back lost jobs.
"Are we going to allow the entire domestic automotive manufacturing industry to disappear?" he asked at a campaign stop outside a General Motors Corp. plant in Ypsilanti.
It was more pandering from a candidate who always seems eager to please. Romney is a smart businessman. He knows the U.S. auto industry will never regain its former glory. But he didn't level with his Michigan supporters.
The U.S. auto industry is not about to disappear, but McCain was right when he said, "There are some jobs that aren't coming back to Michigan."
Even Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Mich., a Romney supporter, acknowledged that some of his state's manufacturing jobs cannot be saved, and many of those that have been lost are not coming back, just as steel mills won't be making a comeback in Pittsburgh anytime soon, or textile mills in the Carolinas.
McCain believes the nation needs to bolster job training so displaced workers can prosper in the highly competitive global economy...
Telling people otherwise might make them feel good, but it won't help their prospects - or the American economy.
Read The Full Tampa Tribune Editorial: "Michigan Likes Sugarcoated Message"