Published: February 10, 2008 10:26 am         

Op-Ed: Moderate gets small taste of victory

ANN ARBOR — It may not be clear which Democrat really won Super Tuesday, but there is one big Michigan Republican winner — and it wasn't Mitt Romney.

For Dr. Joe Schwarz, an ear, nose and throat specialist in Battle Creek, it was the best day he's had politically in a long time. For eight years, he has been the closest friend GOP frontrunner John McCain has in the state, and his man's Super Tuesday triumph was sweet victory.

It has been a bleak eight years in the wilderness for moderate Republicans, and for Joe Schwarz more than most.

Two years ago, he was a freshman congressman representing Michigan's Seventh District, which included Hillsdale and Lenawee Counties. Surveys of journalists and lawmakers showed that he was among the most highly regarded freshmen in the House.

He came to Congress after a long career as a doctor, Navy officer, CIA agent and state senator.

When he ran for re-election he was endorsed by everyone from President Bush on down. But he was defeated in the Republican primary by current U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, who labeled Schwarz, a tough military hawk, a "liberal." His crimes: Supporting education funding, and a belief that abortion should be "safe, legal and rare."

That result disgusted the former congressman, to put it mildly. Now 70, Joe Schwarz is a sometimes irascible bear of a man who was a devotee of "straight talk" before it was a campaign slogan.

Eight years ago he was still in the state Senate when he heard that a senator from Arizona named John McCain was in town, running for president. He was being snubbed by the state's GOP establishment, all of whom supported George W. Bush.

That offended Joe Schwarz. After all, McCain was an authentic hero who had spent years as a POW in Vietnam.

"So I went over to where he was speaking, stuck out my hand, introduced myself and said, 'By the way, I am endorsing you for president.'" That led to Schwarz managing the senator's campaign in the 2000 Michigan presidential primary.

On election night, Gov. John Engler was hugely embarrassed when John McCain decisively defeated George W. Bush, in part because of his enormous appeal to independents and crossover Democrats.

The McCain campaign ran out of money and steam later that year. But the bond between the two men stayed strong. McCain came to Michigan to campaign for Joe Schwarz's unsuccessful bid for governor in 2002, and his successful try for congress in 2004.

They are a lot alike, though the doctor is a bit more liberal on social issues. A year apart in age, they have strong military ties, believe in building coalitions and working across the aisle, and don't always suffer fools gladly or diplomatically.

Six months ago, when it seemed McCain's campaign was all but over, Schwarz told me "he may make a comeback, if he gets back to being himself." That is exactly what happened.

Now, barring the unforeseen, the Arizona senator seems all but certain to be the Republican presidential nominee. Schwarz thinks his appeal to independents and moderates will make him the first GOP standard-bearer to carry Michigan in two decades.

If that happens, what job would the good doctor ideally like to have in a McCain administration? Most politicians would protest they haven't thought of such a thing. Schwarz doesn't hesitate.

"Secretary of the Navy," he says, without missing a beat.

Frankly, I wouldn't bet one dime against his getting it.

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Just Wondering: During her State of the State address last month, Gov. Jennifer Granholm said she would ask the Legislature to make staying in school mandatory until age 18. Currently, students can drop out at age 16, and statewide, about a third of them do.

In Detroit's troubled public schools, only 22 percent of high school students graduate within four years, and perhaps two-thirds never graduate at all. There is widespread agreement that someone without a high school degree has zero chance of success today.

Nevertheless, the conservative, Midland-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy opposes extending the dropout rate. Why?

Ryan Olson, Mackinac's director of public policy, says the state can't afford it. Olson, who grew up in Muskegon but who has a doctorate in Greek and Latin from Oxford University, says "we'd end up spending more on teachers, classes, lunches and transportation."

Yes, he is right about that. But think about hundreds of thousands of unemployable, jobless youth, and what kind of lives they are apt to have and what choices they are apt to make.

Doesn't it seem likely that not spending the money to keep them in school might cost Michigan a lot more?

Contact Jack Lessenberry at Bucca@aol.com or write to him at 189 Manoogian Hall, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, 48202