Wow this week went by fast. Friday links:

• Reid Wilson writes an excellent article on the political impact of the urbanization of states. He focuses on demographic issues, but gives a tip of the hat to the secondary effect of urbanization — the more people from diverse backgrounds live in close proximity, the more likely they are to support liberal “good neighbor” policies.

• Etch-a-Sketch alert: Mitt Romney is trying to back away from his immigration stance. Remember this is the guy that Newt Gingrich looked at on immigration and said, “dude, you’re a dick!”

• This is a nightmarish instance of pure partisan politics on par with Bush v. Gore. Michigan citizens rose up against the state’s horrific “emergency manager” law — cities underwater because of GOP tax cuts lose sovereignty to be raided by hand-picked GOP raiders — and the GOP commissioners charged with certifying the signatures decided (apparently wrongly) that the form was in the wrong font and threw it out.

• Does Rubio’s DREAM Act put Obama in a box? No. Just, no, writes Adam Serwer.

• Finally, a great piece at the conjunction of politics, technology and graphic design: Dave Weigel looks at wordclouds of media phrases linked to potential GOP running mates.