Mitt-mentum: How Far Will It Go?

Mitt Romney finally got his gold medal last night in Michigan, but the win has analysts wondering whether his home-state comeback can carry the country. Michigan was, after all, the land of his father, a three-term governor in the Big Three's glory days; there was a nostalgic haze around the campaign the last few days, Salon notes. His message was so focused on the state, "you almost got the idea that the winner would go on to be president of Michigan," writes Mike Madden.

Romney supporters say the former governor found his voice in Michigan, that the "can-do CEO who knows how to get jobs back" is the real Mitt Romney. "He got away from tailoring his message to different constituencies," one tells Anna Marie Cox in Time. But if this is the real thing, who was the candidate who ran in Iowa and New Hampshire? The Michigan Mitt could call attention to his authenticity issues all over again. (More Election 2008 stories.)