Some of you may have heard Karl Rove on Fox News recently stating that John McCain needs to select Mitt Romney as his Vice President in order to win in November.  I am not sure that it is absolutely necessary, as I think McCain will win handily with even a mediocre VP, although I do think Mitt Romney would be the best man for the job.  Some of the reasons are simple, and Fred Barnes lists most of them here.  He's a plausible President 4 or 8 years down the road, he won't detract from the campaign, he's already been vetted by the press, he's more than acceptable to social conservatives, unflappable in debates (Hillary vs Mitt I can't wait), and most of all, with the economy fast-becoming the number one national issue over the war in Iraq, Romney will put people's minds at ease knowing he's on the ticket (Barnes doesn't even bring up Romney's ability to fundraise - one of McCain's biggest problems right now).

 These are all superb reasons, and all reasons I agree with.  Fred Barnes and Karl Rove are no political light-weights; they know of what they speak.  However, I think there are other reasons that are just as important and valid that no one has yet to speak of.  So far I have heard of people bring up Governor Tim Pawlenty's name when speaking of putting a specific state or two in play.  True, Minnesota is an important swing state that provides 10 electoral votes.  Bush lost it by only 3 percentage points to Kerry in 2004.  However, Bush lost Michigan by just 4 percentage points to Kerry, and it provides 17 electoral votes.  Romney was born in Michigan and lived there for a large portion of his life; his father George was Governor from 1963-1969.  Romney also won the Michigan primary handily and showed he can get votes there; he will most certainly put Michign into play, if not win it outright.

Colorado has also become a true purple state; Bush won it by 5 percentage points in 2004, but Colorado has been swinging strongly to the left for the last two years.  Mitt Romney has almost a cult icon status here, and won the Colorado Primary with over 60% of the vote.  With Romney on the ticket, Republicans can be assured that they would carry Colorado again in November.

Not only is Mitt Romney the best man for the job now, he is the best man for the top-job in 4 or 8 years.  He also provides help where McCain is weak, organization and fundraising, and he will bring in alot of people that were soured on McCain during the primaries.  However, most important come November is that he can also put important swing states in play.  

It is time for John McCain and Mitt Romney to sit down and work things out; they are the best two men for the job.