Telling the candidates apart

Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm can't seek another term, which ends at the end of this year. A relief, since she is such a wimp. At last count there are 5 GOP and 4 Dem candidates. Most of them don't have much of a statewide name and those that do are a part of the gridlock in Lansing. So how to make sense of the candidates? None have started much of a campaign to introduce themselves (the primary is in early August), though the anti-campaigns have begun -- I got a robo-call to alert me to the hazards of voting for one of the Dems (I hung up as soon as I recognized the purpose).

Finally, a crack in the blank façade. In response to a lesbian custody battle, Alma Wheeler Smith, a Dem candidate, has sponsored a bill to allow unmarried couples to adopt each other's children. It's important because gays can't marry in Michigan. The bill seems dead in the House (Dem controlled) because in an election year none of the lawmakers want to upset possibly conservative voters. So congratulations to Ms. Smith for having enough of a spine to stand up for at least one of our issues.