PETOSKEY, Mich. — The sun is out, the lake is glistening, the strawberries are bright red and summer-sweet. Golfers and anglers are busy, cyclists are on the move, brats are on the barbecue. This is Michigan at its best.
Much of the state is on a summer holiday, and while Michigan's economy is not exactly at its best — there remain persistent pockets of poverty and hopelessness — the state overall is perking along, there are slightly more ups than downs in the forecasts, and everywhere, encouraging signs are visible. All this is good news for the governor, Gretchen Whitmer, who has a can-do attitude to go along with presidential aspirations never expressed but never far from the political conversation here.
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