The Obama campaign, since bringing in outsiders, has finally begun a painfully-long-overdue discussion with Michigan voters, though it seems now entirely of the pay-to-play, cynical, politics-as-usual variety.  With several hundred (you read that right) paid staffers expected on the streets in forty-some-odd field offices the Democratic campaign looks ready and willing to drown the state in millions of those integrity-defying, non-public-financing campaign dollars.  Did it take an Oregon native to force the Senator to open that ethically challenged piggy bank in Michigan?

The change is even more profound when you look at the McCain campaign.  The Senator has never been the stranger that Obama was these last two years.  While the Clown Prince of Change (TM and Patent Pending) ignored Michigan for a full year, refusing to step foot in-state, McCain was a regular guest.  He continues to single the State out for destination campaigning, wrapping up a series of visits and a town hall meeting just last week while preparing another set for this Friday.  But standing behind a podium and giving a double-barreled thumbs up to the thumb will only get you so far if your message is off target.

In early May, with that familiar local voice well represented in his national campaign, McCain made headlines by appearing in Southeast Michigan, ground zero for the nation's economic difficulties and the home of an auto industry going through painful, long-term contraction.  He had a chance to discuss the economy and more importantly, to speak directly to hurting people about the issues dominating their lives.  Instead he talked about child pornography.  

The messaging gaffe led MSM'er Susan Demas to aptly observe that "on the list of (the) top 1,000 issues for Michiganders, kiddie porn ranks about 1,263,000."  Talk about "unforced errors."

Fast forward to July 2nd and the subsequent staffing announcements out of the "Maverick's" Washington, D.C. operation.  We may not yet know how deep and far-reaching the Michigan related national level staffing changes are but the difference in local execution has been profound.  With local "Victory Centers" opening across the state Senator McCain returned to Southeast Michigan last week to do nothing less than unveil his national economic plan, a plan that was widely praised by local small business owners and job providers and was immediately endorsed by well over three-hundred of the nation's leading economists.  This Friday's scheduled visit again plays to the candidate's strengths, setting him up with a town hall meeting while surrogates like the locally popular Mitt Romney appropriately handle the "light work" of formally opening staff offices.

Gone too are the goofy backdrops and the faux pomp and circumstance of sloppily staged speeches on obscure topics, replaced by sit-down meetings with auto workers and one-on-one conversations at Coney Island restaurants, talking over chili dogs with real Michigan people literally where they work and live.  In two weeks time McCain's Michigan effort has transformed from Exhibit A of what was wrong with a floundering national campaign into the perfect example of how to use a candidate's time to conduct a well refined, laser-targeted messaging war.

To all of the out-of-staters heading our way for the first time in years, welcome.  Bring your staff level friends with you!  Because if it comes down to a choice between parochial pride and an effective, focused campaign engaging Michigan voters on Michigan issues seeking solutions to Michigan problems, well, there's really no choice at all.