EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Carl Levin is talking about the economy and the presidential race with more than a dozen college students on a sunny tailgating Saturday at Michigan State University when he pauses to answer a frequent request.

"You can take a picture of me wherever you want," Levin tells students who want a group photo with the Detroit Democrat before the football game. "Just get me in front of an American car."

Levin wears a bright green Michigan State baseball cap and a sweat shirt from Kettering University, a school with strong ties to Michigan's automotive industry. At 74, he's old enough to be the grandfather of the College Democrats who invited him to drop by before the Spartans' homecoming game against Iowa.

But Levin doesn't need the Red Bull and pizza fueling the younger campaigners this morning. He's juiced up enough just comparing the Barack Obama campaign these students support with the John F. Kennedy campaign he volunteered for in 1960, fresh out of Harvard Law School.

"It makes you feel young again," Levin says. "I am inspired by the enthusiasm of this generation. They sense we're at a real crossroads in this country, and they're right."

Levin is campaigning for re-election to the U.S. Senate seat he's held since 1979. Already the longest-serving U.S. senator in Michigan history, Levin shows no signs of slowing down as he seeks a sixth term against relatively unknown Republican challenger Jack Hoogendyk.

Others running for his seat include the Green Party's Harley Mikkelson, Michael Nikitin of the U.S. Taxpayers Party, Libertarian Scotty Boman and the Natural Law Party's Doug Dern.

Levin's longevity, popularity and good-sized campaign finance account have scared off potential big-name opponents for more than a decade. He doesn't spend much time talking about his own campaign, focusing instead on Obama's matchup with Republican John McCain and the Democrats' bid to increase their razor-thin 51-49 edge over Senate Republicans.

Levin has put off retirement because he wants to reverse what he calls eight years of failed policies from the Republican administration of outgoing President Bush.

"It's not the right time for him to retire," says Barbara Levin, the senator's wife and confidant since 1961. "At this point, he needs to stay. He's hopeful with a new administration coming in there will be an opportunity to change direction and change course."

A key to Levin's success is his slightly rumpled, guy-next-door, down-to-Earth demeanor that resonates with Michigan voters. He appears comfortable and connected wherever he goes — Capitol Hill for a Senate session, Iraq for a fact-finding mission or a college campus for a football Saturday.

Levin grew up in Detroit and still lives there. The former city council member remains rooted in the automotive and labor capital even though he's spent much of the past three decades in Washington.

Levin carries a fading United Auto Workers membership card from 1953 in his wallet, a reminder of his days as a line worker at a Ford tractor factory. He tightened the bolts on automobile doors as they moved down the assembly line at a Chrysler DeSoto plant. Levin drove a taxi while in law school, a job that helped him learn to converse with people from all backgrounds.

It's an attribute Levin's colleagues appreciate. Staffers and senators alike say Levin is pretty much the same candid, hardworking guy whether he's on camera or well away from the public spotlight.

"He's just a very decent person," says U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island who serves on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee that Levin chairs. "He's unpretentious, unassuming. He never forgets that what we're doing is enmeshed with the lives of the people he represents."

Reed joined Levin in sponsoring a Democratic proposal to order a timeframe for troop withdrawals from Iraq in 2007. The proposal failed, but it reinforced Levin's standing as a passionate critic of the Bush Administration and the Iraq war.

If he had his way, Levin would slap a windfall tax on some oil company profits and beef up regulation of the financial industry. He supports expanding health care coverage and opposes privatizing part of Social Security.

Levin gets high marks from the liberal lobbying group Americans for Democratic Action and low marks from the American Conservative Union.

Republicans don't agree with some of Levin's political philosophies, but those who know him cite his reputation for honesty.

"We've always had a very trusting and respectful relationship," said retiring U.S. Sen. John Warner, a Virginia Republican who joined the Senate the same year as Levin and worked closely with him on the Armed Services Committee. "We do not try to pull surprises on each other. The security of the nation and the welfare of the armed services come first."

Through it all, Levin keeps perspective on his role in history.

Michigan has had 38 U.S. senators since becoming a state in 1837. All of their portraits hang on the walls of Levin's Senate office conference room. Two empty spaces are reserved for future senators, a reminder that Levin is in office for a relatively short time — even if it turns out to be well over 30 years.

"I'm part of a long trail of people who have represented Michigan," says Levin, who plans to turn the portraits over to his successor whenever he leaves Washington. "I'm just part of that history. The people coming after me ... can pick up where I leave off, whoever they might be."

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On the Net:

Carl Levin campaign: http://www.carllevin.com