Palin wasn't part of the decision, thinks McCain should stay in Michigan

On Friday, October 3, Gov. Sarah Palin visited Dallas.  While here, she spoke with Fox News and revealed that she learned about the decision to pull the McCain campaign out of Michigan in the morning paper.  She was not phased by admitting that she had not been included in this decision, and simply said that she disagreed and would like to continue to speak with Michigan voters.  Her comments reinforced those from the debate the night before, that she and John McCain are "a team of mavericks" and can't agree all the time.  It is media moments like this that Sarah Palin manages to use to boost her image as an independent thinker, when they could be used to expose her limited role in the campaign.  She also always maintains her 'do what it takes' language, talking in terms of "people who are hurting" more so than polls and budgets.

Many have labeled McCain's change in state focus as a bad sign, including Fox News' Susan Estrich and the Michigan Republican Party.  On CNN, John King explored some potential consequences of McCain's decision, noting that Michigan's neighbor Wisconsin went to Dukakis in 1988.  He observed that Michigan could cause a domino effect in Obama's favor, particularly as economic issues continue to take the forefront of the debate.