The Occasional Observer

my mind is absolutely made up. There is almost zero chance that McCain will pick Rudy.

That said, I'm pretty convinced he's the best choice, hands down.

Why?

He doubles down on the major GOP advantage this cycle--who is ready to govern. Rudy has accomplished more in an executive role than McCain, Obama and Biden put together. He's dealt with homeland security in a more hands-on, real way, than Biden has, despite Biden's alleged "foreign policy" experience. Rudy's economic message amplifies McCain's: he enabled an economic turnaround with free-market principles. He's up to the task of hatchet man, and he's not going to be bullied by Biden.

Mitt meets all the same criteria--plus he's pro-life. But for some reason, middle America seems genuinely skeptical about Mitt. Whether it's because they don't like someone that rich, that Mormon, or just that perfect, I don't know. But what's clear is, with the exception of the abortion issues (and a lot of tried and true pro lifers don't give Mitt the benefit of the doubt on that one), Mitt doesn't have any major advantages over Rudy. Rudy's going to come off as much more an every day guy, while still being up to the job. Mitt fails on the former, and Palin and Pawlenty are question marks on the latter.

Finally, Rudy plays well in Eastern PA, and that might counter the Biden impact on the Keystone state. But that's way down the list.

On ideology and uniting the conservative base, there are safer choices than Rudy (think Pawlenty). But when it comes to the average Joe, they're not sure who T-Paw is, and thus if he's up to the job. Rudy is a leader and everyone knows it.