On The Radio

Michigan Radio's Jack Lessenberry recalled Tuesday night a conversation he had over lunch with state Attorney General Mike Cox in early August. Cox had just suffered defeat in the Republican gubernatorial primary, falling to Ann Arbor businessman Rick Snyder. And he wasn't happy about it. "He was complaining bitterly," Lessenberry said. "He said, 'I've got all these good things that I could have done for the state, and I understand Detroit, and I understand all this other stuff,' which was not reflected in his campaign. And I said, 'Well, why in that case did you not communicate that? Why did you run a solely negative campaign attacking your opponents?'" Lessenberry said Cox responded: "Because positive advertising never works." Read the story here.

The Art Of Politics

The Ann Arbor Art Fairs turned into political stumping grounds today as two Michigan gubernatorial campaigns descended upon the art-filled streets of downtown Ann Arbor. At one end of East Liberty Street, Attorney General Mike Cox, a Republican contender in the Aug. 3 primary, moved through the crowd of fairgoers, shaking hands and talking about his plan to cut taxes and reduce the size of state government. Further down Liberty Street, Kelly Bernero passed out campaign literature for her father, Democrat Virg Bernero, describing him to fairgoers as the fighter for working families that Michigan needs. Despite obvious political differences, Cox and Kelly Bernero share some common ground: They're both University of Michigan graduates, and they both love Ann Arbor.