Politics at the Five-and-Dime

But on most days she's sure. "I'm 55 years old. I don't like the way the world is going."

For every Obama believer swept up in a sea of "Change" bumper stickers, there are others who are tentative, whose slow gravitation is nothing short of a radical act.

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The conversion is not shared across her family.

There's Sherry. "She said she doesn't like the way Obama was raised and the whole business with his church," Fleck says. "She was talking about his religion. Something about his stepbrother, who lives wherever. This is stuff that I didn't know about."

And there's the man she has been dating for the last few years, who works on prototype cars for Ford. "He's not real happy about Obama being black," Fleck says. "I said to him, 'Close your eyes and what do you see?' " But it is an impossible sell.

Until a week ago, Oakland County in suburban Detroit, where Fleck lives, was called the battleground of the battleground for the 2008 election: a must-win county in a must-win state. A mix of astonishing affluence, blue-collar workers, new immigrants from India and Japan, townships with 20 percent Jewish populations and a growing African American middle class, Oakland is known for its independent and swing voters. For that reason, McCain based his Great Lakes Regional Headquarters (Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana) in Oakland, and Obama positioned seven of his 49 state offices here.

Then came the economic apocalypse, and almost overnight the race no longer seemed close. Last week's polls showed Obama pulling ahead by nine points; McCain decided to suspend campaign operations in Michigan to focus efforts elsewhere. If Michigan is any kind of barometer for Ohio and Pennsylvania -- both crucial states in the struggling Rust Belt and replete with blue-collar workers and union retirees -- the transcendent issue of the economy could nudge tentative Democrats toward Obama. But not all.

Clayton Taylor is a 26-year-old Democrat who lives in Oakland County's working-class section of Troy. He supports abortion rights and loved Hillary Clinton but will not vote for Obama. He worries about the candidate's lack of experience and that he'll promote welfare. "He's gonna give too much away," said Thomas, outside fixing his porch. "There are a lot of people who will sit back and take it. He tries to be too 'We the People,' like he's an average Joe. He's hiding some beliefs."

From bowling alleys to bars, the economy dominates all corners of public discussion. Not the war, though Michigan has suffered 165 deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not abortion, not same-sex marriage, not national security, not terrorism. The economy.

A sign in front of a dental clinic advertises "Free Gas Card with Teeth Cleaning or X-Ray." A radio ad urges listeners to take advantage of the opportunity-rich foreclosure market -- "Order your 'Flip and Grow Rich' CD now!" Obama lands a populist punch with a TV ad showing McCain pledging his loyalty to American cars before an ominous voice-over comes on saying that the Republican senator owns 13 vehicles, including three foreign-made cars. The anxiety reaches the rolling emerald lawns up in Birmingham, where layoffs and job losses from the auto industry have started hitting executives and engineers.

But in Birmingham, there is still osso buco, and cases of new fall pinots are stocked at Papa Joe's Gourmet Market. At the Dollar General store where Fleck works, the anxiety is on naked display.