Dick DeVos will never be as comfortable or as glib on the debate stage as Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
But he held his own in Tuesday night's second debate and showed Michigan a more composed, more purposeful candidate than they saw during the first gubernatorial face-off.
While both candidates were too long on charges and counter-charges and too short on specific solutions to Michigan's many ailments, DeVos was at least able to tick off the framework of his plan to revive Michigan, which relies heavily on tax and regulatory reform and helping state businesses cultivate international markets.
After seeming often lost in the first debate, DeVos comported himself on stage with authority.
Although at times overly dour and defensive, DeVos stuck to his central message -- that Granholm has had four years to deliver on her promises to Michigan, and has failed to do so.
The governor, though decidedly less combative than in the first debate, continued her strategy of cheap shots and distortions, chiding DeVos for reducing the size of the Amway workforce while he was running the family-owned business, and for lobbying for tax breaks for the company.
That charge is audacious for a governor who has desperately dealt out tax exemptions to nearly any business who asks for them, including auto manufacturers who are laying off Michigan workers and moving jobs overseas.
She also attacked DeVos for Amway's use of temporary workers not eligible for health care, even though the state of Michigan, under her leadership, employs hundreds of temporary staffers who are not covered by the state's health insurance plan.
As she did in the first go-round, Granholm relied heavily on convincing Michigan voters that conditions in the state are much brighter than they appear. She also touted her so-called economic revival plan, a strategy that relies on public works spending and state-backed investments and offers little hope of a real structural change for the Michigan economy.
Much of what Granholm offered were the same promises she made four years ago -- smaller high schools, for example -- but has not been able to put into effect.
DeVos rightly called her on the lack of results.
Though improved, his performance was far from flawless. He botched the question about government-provided health care -- he should have said unequivocably that it's a disastrous idea -- and on increasing the energy conservation burden on the construction industry -- he should have said he's against anything that costs Michigan jobs, period.
In judging the impact of the debate, neither candidate delivered the knock-out punch. It is likely that the contest did little to move voters from one camp or the other.
But undecided voters who were troubled by DeVos' awkwardness in the first debate had to have been impressed with the turnaround he exhibited Tuesday night.
It was a solid performance, and one that should convince Michigan voters they have a real choice.
Copyright 2006 The Detroit News. All rights reserved.
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