Commerce Opening May Revive Granholm Rumors

Some news reporters report news. Some report speculation. Some fuel speculation.

Tim Skubick falls into the later category. The Lansing news veteran has covered the Michigan Capitol since before the electric typewriter was invented. Politicians come and go. Other reporters come and go. Issues come and go. But one thing stays -- Tim Skubick's speculation machine.

A favorite Skubick ploy for creating speculation is to ask virtually every two-bit politician who comes to Lansing, "Are you running for governor?" Nearly every one says he or she is thinking about it because what politician above the level of county commissioner (and some at that level, too) hasn't thought about it.

Presto! Skubick has a "story" without having to do any real work.

An even better story machine this year has been speculation on whether Gov. Jennifer Granholm will take a job in the Obama administration, enabling Skubick to speculate, speculate, speculate about her chances.

When all the jobs in the cabinet were filled, there was still a judgeship to speculate about, as he did recently in the Lansing State Journal.

While speculating endlessly, Skubick blames Granholm for making him do it. He argues that she should just say yes she's interested in a job or no she isn't, as if that would really end his speculating. If she says she would be interested, then Skubick could speculate on why she was passed over for this or that job (whether or not she really was) or which job she might be interested in. If she says no, then Skubick can speculate whether she really was interested and was spurned by Obama.

Speculation never ends because it is based on nothing but thin air.

So now that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has bowed out of heading the Department of Commerce, expect the Skubick speculation machine to start up again.

But that's just speculation on my part.