Obama’s high-energy but low-content message of “change” and “hope.” He said that Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and sitting Micigan governor Jennifer Granholm (D.) “both ran this sort of campaign — we were told to believe, to vote for change. They both made similar pitches — inexperienced politicians who frame themselves with great stump speeches.”

Kilpatrick agreed last week to step down as mayor of Detroit and accept a 120-day jail sentence on two felony

Obama offered now-embarrassing full-throated praise for Kilpatrick at the Detroit Economic Club, providing a convenient audio-visual link between the two men. “He is a leader not just here in Detroit, not just in Michigan, but all across the country,” an exuberant Obama said of Kilpatrick. “We know that he is going to be doing astounding things for many years to come. I am grateful to call him a friend and colleague, and I am looking forward to a lengthy collaboration.”