Writing in the excellent Weekly Standard blog, Jaime Sneider points out why McCain should consider Mitt Romney as his running mate.

Looking at this chart of swing states, it becomes clear who John McCain’s choice for VP should be. McCain should select Mitt Romney as his running mate. This move would put Nevada in the Republican category and, at the very least, make Michigan a “toss up” if not “leans Republican.” To the extent Romney supporters are willing to travel to nearby Colorado and New Mexico, it could also ensure that McCain has a much needed, fairly active get out the vote effort in the southwest.

There are arguments made against choosing running mates for electoral purposes, but America understands how the Electoral College works. If Sneider is correct and Romney helps deliver the southwest, it can swing more states to McCain.

I’ve felt the chattering classes have been over playing evangelical Christian and southern voters aversions to Romney. And the fact that he is plausible as president helps. Romney is also extremely effective on the stump.

The NY Times, usually fawning in its coverage of all things Obama, may have put an end to the argument coming from Barack Obama himself that John McCain would represent a third Bush term. The remarkably fair and sober compare and contrast piece is strikingly titled, “How Close McCain Is to Bush Depends on the Issue.”

One wonders how this particulat mantra was playing as it is. But when the NY Times, whose op-ed page is certain to endorse Obama, signals that the McCain equals Bush argument doesn’t necessarily fly people notice.