Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Republican challenger Dick DeVos counted on political star power to put a charge in their campaigns during Saturday get-out-the-vote rallies in Metro Detroit.
Former President Clinton fired up Democrats in Detroit while ex-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani revved up Republicans in Monroe, Taylor and Royal Oak heading into the final 72 hours before Michigan voters decide on a governor, U.S. senator and a host of candidates and issues at all levels.
Republicans "are trying to sell you the same can of worms they are selling everywhere else," Clinton told a rollicking crowd of 400 Democrats on Saturday morning at Wayne State University. The Democratic ex-president, who's been on a 29-state tour supporting his party's candidates, was joined by Granholm, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow and a mixture of Democratic office-holders and office seekers.
In Taylor, Giuliani told a rally at the Hungarian-American Cultural Center in Taylor: "This election can be won by Dick DeVos."
"The polls, man, don't pay attention to the polls," he urged "It's not the media. It's not the polls. It's not the experts. It's you. You decide."
Stabenow's Republican opponent, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, toured high school football games and suburban bowling alleys, also breaking from his bus trip for a live national TV interview with Fox News. The four candidates who'll be at the top of Michigan ballots on Tuesday planned to make the rounds of Metro Detroit churches Sunday, and almost non-stop campaigning through Election Day.
Granholm and Clinton blasted Bush Administration economic policies they said have only made things worse for Michigan's struggling auto industry and have stagnated middle class wages and benefits.
Amid shouts of "four more years!" the governor said George W. Bush's successor as president in two years "must not come to the state of Michigan unless he's going to talk about a law that says we will leave no worker behind."
Clinton said DeVos "says Michigan is in a hole, give me a bigger shovel. They want to dig a bigger hole," he told the cheering audience.
Mohey Mowafy, a 63-year-old Northern Michigan University professor, brought 32 students to the rally.
"I have loved this president all my life," Mowafy said. "He is right on the money."
Mowafy said he hopes Democrats take control of the Michigan House and Senate, but not by a large margin.
"When the difference between them is narrow, that's when government works best," he said.
DeVos is hoping Giuliani's endorsement can help close the gap between him and Granholm. Giuliani's calm, assured leadership in New York City following the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center made him a national hero of sorts.
In the latest Detroit News/WXYZ-TV poll published Saturday, DeVos trailed Granholm, 49 percent to 42 percent, a slight tightening of the race from earlier this week.
Saturday's rallies for GOP supporters were designed to boost Republican turnout on Tuesday; party officials hope their "72-hour program" to boost turnout can carry DeVos to an upset win.
DeVos has made Michigan's job losses, second-highest-in-the-nation unemployment rate and troubled economy his theme. Referring to Giuliani's leadership after the 2001 terrorist attacks, he said Michigan needs something similar.
"In a time of need, leadership matters," said. "Michigan is in a time of need."
Stabenow, who enjoys a double-digit advantage over Bouchard in the most recent poll, predicted Democrats will regain control of both chambers in the U.S. Congress. She portrayed the election as "a fight for the middle class of our country."
But Bouchard told a Fox News interviewer the race isn't over that Michigan elections usually go down to the wire. "She's wrong on every issue, from border security to taxes," he said, predicting he will be victorious.
