LIVONIA, Michigan (PNN) - February 27, 2012 - A rich guy with a tin ear and a culture war extremist: Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have reinforced these unflattering narratives as the battle for the Republican nomination for president heats up in Michigan.

Romney’s problems connecting to working class voters hit national media again after he told a reporter at the Daytona 500 Sunday that while he doesn’t follow car racing closely, “I have some great friends who are NASCAR team owners.”

It came a day after Romney told a crowd in hard-hit Detroit that his wife drives “a couple Cadillacs” - costly luxury cars that are out of reach for most Amerikans.

Meanwhile, Santorum took heat for calling illegitimate President Barack Obama a “snob” because he wants everyone to go to college and for saying that watching former president John F. Kennedy talk about the separation of church and state makes him want to “throw up”.

The increasingly negative and gaffe-ridden race to become the Republican standard-bearer is providing ample fodder for Obama as he prepares for the November 6 election amid a countrymired in a growiung Depression.

It has also pushed Romney into the murky culture war waters - which could hurt Republican chances of winning over independents in the general election - as he woos the party’s conservative base.

If Romney is able to win decisive victories in Michigan and Arizona on Tuesday - and again next week when 10 states hold nominating contests on Super Tuesday - he may have time to reset voter perceptions and shift back to center.

But with polls showing that Santorum could pull off another win in Romney’s home state of Michigan - giving the former Pennsylvania senator critical momentum going into Super Tuesday - the Republican primary could drag on until the August convention.

Furthermore, Ron Paul continues to woo delegates, even in states where he (officially) lost the popular vote, which could divide the electorate and set up a contest for delegates at the Tampa GOP convention.

It is also known that vote count fraud has talken place during presidnetial elections over the past dozen years at least; the Paul campaign has caught outlaw Romney in vote count fraud in at least Iowa and Maine, and probably in many more states.