THURSDAY NIGHT’S Republican presidential debate produced more equivocation from former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney about when he would release his tax returns and how many he would release. He was asked by moderator John King if he would follow the standard set by his own father, George, the former Michigan governor who was the first presidential candidate to release his tax returns . He put out 12 years’ worth in November 1967, as he prepared to run for the White House in 1968 — a point also being made in a Democratic National Committee video. All Mr. Romney could muster was an awkward “Maybe.” Wait until April, he said. Read full article > >

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Editorial Board: Republicans are falling short of the Romney standard

Michigan defensive lineman Ryan Van Bergen thought he had seen and heard it all during his previous four years in Ann Arbor, from being a part of Lloyd Carr’s final team in 2007 to the tumultuous three years that followed under Rich Rodriguez to finishing the 2010 season with the third-worst defense among Bowl Championship Series conference teams. Read full article > >

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Michigan football enters 2012 Sugar Bowl with a new attitude on defense

In each of the last three years, 1 in 5 Americans suffered a decline in household income of at least 20%, says Jacob Hacker, author of “ Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer–and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class ”(2010). Sometimes, these declines overlap – the same household losing 20% one year and an additional 20% another year. More often, they do not. And, according to a recent Census Bureau report, nearly half of all Americans – 48% – have either fallen into poverty or are low income, scraping by on less than $45,000 for a family of four. It is bad out there. Hacker, who is also Director of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies at Yale, measures income instability via an Economic Security Index he devised in 2010. This index takes into account wages, pensions, and the like, minus out-of-pocket health costs and debt service for credits cards and other unsecured credit. The results are eye popping. Twenty-nine urban mayors told the AP that 1 in 4 individuals needing emergency food assistance instead go hungry. What’s more, Sheldon Danziger, a University of Michigan Public Policy professor, told the AP , “If Congress and the states make further cuts, we can expect the number of poor and low-income families to rise for the next several years.” In two phone interviews with me, Hacker analogized American wealth distribution with a system of canals locks. Although rising and declining tides may raise or lower all ships, America’s economic engine – chiefly its banking and corporate governance systems – have transformed the economy into a series of locks which raise a few, select yachts higher, while the rest of us remain in dinghies at sea level. This – the 1% getting richer while keeping out the 99% – has been the primary fuel energizing both the Occupy and Tea Party movements.

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So, What is the Economic Conflagration Spurring the Occupy Movement?

BERKELEY, Calif. — Across the nation, a historic collapse in state funding for higher education threatens to diminish the stature of premier public universities and erode their mission as engines of upward social mobility. At the University of Virginia, state support has dwindled in two decades from 26 percent of the operating budget to 7 percent. At the University of Michigan, it has declined from 48 percent to 17 percent. Read full article > >

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UC-Berkeley and other ‘public Ivies’ in fiscal peril

Troy, Mich., is rejecting a transportation center that would have been fully financed with stimulus money.

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Michigan City of Troy, Led by Tea Party Mayor, Rejects Federal Dollars

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Hidden behind a curtain of turnovers and missed shots for 13 periods this season, the complete version of the Virginia men’s basketball team unveiled itself in the second half of Tuesday night’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge match-up against No. 14 Michigan . After a first half in which the Cavaliers at one point went seven minutes without scoring a basket, Virginia made half its shots after the intermission and stormed to a 70-58 victory that carried short- and long-term benefits. The Wolverines ( 5-2 ) stood as the first — and likely the only — high-quality opponent the Cavaliers ( 6-1 ) will face in nonconference play. Read full article > >

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Virginia vs. Michigan: Scott leads Cavaliers past No. 14 Wolverines, 70-58

Herman Cain tells aides he is reassessing whether to stay in the presidential race.

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The Caucus: Amid Talk of Affair, Cain Is Reassessing Campaign, Aide Says

Duke basketball beats Michigan State.

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Krzyzewski Wins Record 903rd Game

Mike Krzyzewski’s next win, which could come Tuesday against Michigan State at Madison Square Garden, will be his 903rd, one more than Bob Knight.

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Still Full of Fire, Duke’s Krzyzewski Is Set to Break Record for Wins

CORONADO, Calif. — The Michigan State Spartans couldn’t feel too bad about losing 67-55 to No. 1 North Carolina in the Carrier Classic on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson. After all, President Barack Obama sat at midcourt as the teams played the first college hoops game on an active flat top. The Veterans Day game was conceived by Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis as a salute to the military. Most of the 8,111 fans were active-duty military. Read full article > >

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Obama watches No. 1 Tar Heels beat Michigan State 67-55 on flight deck of USS Carl Vinson

In what was “Top Gun” mixed with March Madness (in November) combined with Veterans Day, North Carolina and Michigan State played basketball on an aircraft carrier.

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North Carolina 67, Michigan State 55: U.N.C. and Michigan State Tip-Off on an Aircraft Carrier

MAULDIN, S.C.—Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney stepped gingerly Friday around the fallout from Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s big debate gaffe in Michigan, saying he tried to offer his rival a verbal prompt, but adding that he’s more concerned about avoiding mistakes of his own rather than the performance of others. Read full article > >

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Romney comments on Perry gaffe, hits Obama on wars

“Saturday Night Live” writers might be put out of business. First there was Herman Cain’s cringey news conference, and now we have Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s deer-in-headlights gaffe during last night’s GOP debate. The jokes write themselves. Jennifer Rubin calls it “epic brain freeze” and our colleague Chris Cillizza asks if this is “the end” for the Perry campaign. Read full article > >

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SNL writers may protest: this is too easy (read-this roundup)

The Republican candidates for president gather in Michigan on Wednesday night for a 90-minute exchange meant to focus on economic issues.

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The Caucus: Live Blogging the Michigan Debate

It’s been several weeks since the candidates all got together, and in the interim the dynamic of the race has changed greatly. Newt Gingrich is now a real force in the race. Texas Gov. Rick Perry has slid so far down, he’s much closer to Rick Santorum than to Mitt Romney in national and many state polls. Herman Cain’s entire public persona has been transformed. And through it all, there is Romney, bobbing along on the waves, never capsizing but never pulling away. Read full article > >

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Jennifer Rubin:
They’re baaack! Debate night in Michigan