McCain Should Do The Math And Pick Romney

There are many reasons why Senator Joe Biden was a dumb pick. One is that he is not a Southerner. As Senator Barack Obama should know, for over fifty years this maxim has held true: no Democrat has won the presidency without a Southerner on the ticket.

Neither Delaware (where Biden now resides) nor Pennsylvania (where he was born) qualifies as part of the South. Granted, a portion of southern Pennsylvania was once controlled by the South, but that ended badly for the invaders in 1863.

Rather than choose a running mate from a blue State that he was already likely to win, Obama should have plucked someone from the red zone -- the Governor of Virginia, for example.

Obama's goof is a gift for Senator John McCain. McCain should choose a running mate with Northern roots who has a decent chance of turning a marginal blue State into a red one. Mitt Romney would provide that opportunity.

To be sure, it would be nothing short of a Massachusetts miracle were Romney to bring the Commonwealth where he served as governor into the Republican fold. But Romney might be able to swing another Northern, heretofore, blue, State McCain's way: Michigan -- where Romney grew up and his father was governor.

According to a poll released today by Detroit Free Press:

From his opposition to the Iraq war to the perception that he's an agent of change, Barack Obama goes into the Democratic National Convention this week with a lot of pluses for Michigan voters.

And one very noticeable challenge -- himself.
Because tucked in among questions from last week's Detroit Free Press-Local 4 Michigan Poll was one asking likely voters if they agreed with the statement, "There are some things about Barack Obama that I'm not that comfortable with."
Nearly two-thirds of the 600 people surveyed last week said they agreed with that statement -- perhaps suggesting that Obama's seven-point lead in the state over Republican John McCain rests on the support of many voters who aren't entirely sure about Obama.

The current projected Electoral College result is Obama 273, McCain 265, according to RealClearPolitics.com. As we know, it takes 270 to win. Romney's Michigan, which is in Obama's column by a slender two percent according the latest poll, has 17 electoral votes.

Unlike Obama, who appears challenged by the subject (law school graduates typically are), McCain should understand the importance of mathematics in choosing a running mate. That's just one of many reasons why Romney would be a great pick.

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