In Transition

If she did leave, though, it could hurt her legacy in the state, and people might grumble that Granholm “cut and ran” and broke past promises that she would finish her term, which ends in 2010. For these reasons, the editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press, Ron Dzwonkowski, is betting against it.

One factor in any governor’s appointment to a cabinet post, of course, is how the party views the likely successor. In Michigan’s case, Ballenger said, Lt. Gov. John Cherry “knows what’s going on. He’s much more experienced politically, he’s been in state government and the legislature since the 1980s. He has pretty good relationships with Republicans and organized labor.”

“He could probably work well with the legislature, one thing Granholm has never been good at. Things are likely to improve after her.”

And if Granholm was effective in helping Michigan from Washington, it would benefit Cherry — the state’s Democrats would be happy, and the Republicans in the legislature couldn’t protest too much if the state were receiving funds. Experience in the governor’s office could also help Cherry in 2010, when he’s likely to run for the seat after Granholm’s second term is up.

Granholm, for her part, is not ruling anything in or out, a non-committal position that was reinforced today by her spokeswoman, Liz Boyd: “She’s looking forward to being governor with a partner in the White House. The governor mentioned that in the six years she’s been governor, she’s never had the president’s ear to discuss the challenges facing the state of Michigan. Now, serving on the president-elect’s transition team, she’s able to make the case as to why the state needs assistance from the government in this difficult and challenging time.”

For now, that speculation will just continue to build, as Obama’s transition team said that no new Cabinet positions would be revealed this week.

— Lauren Phillips