Michigan: Faceless Favorite

"People," he says plaintively, "don't recognize my face." True enough. When Michigan's Republican Senator Robert Griffin alighted from a plane at Detroit's Metropolitan Airport last week, the crowds ignored him. By contrast, Griffin's Democratic opponent for the Senate, wealthy G. Mennen ("Soapy") Williams, a longtime (1949-60) former Governor of Michigan, has made his name, face and green bow tie familiar fixtures from Aetna to Zeeland. Despite the recognition gap, the Detroit News last week published a poll showing that Griffin has established a splinter-slim, 51% -to-48% lead over Williams.

Only months ago, Griffin, 42, was hardly known outside his...

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