Michigan: The Crazy Quilt

Why anyone would want to govern Michigan is a wonder. The state has deep-seated economic problems, and it is riven by inter-and intraparty bitterness of a sort to make any Governor look bad. Yet there is never a dearth of aspirants, and this year is far, far from being an exception to that rule. The contenders: Incumbent Democrat John Swainson, 37, and Republican George Romney, 55, who resigned from his $150,000-a-year job as the head of American Motors to seek public office.

As every Michigan gubernatorial candidate must, Romney and Swainson have...