He got off to a slow start, but Mitt Romney got the crowd going with some clever lines and some cheap shots. For a party that is going crazy over the thought of family members being in the news, Mitt Romney took another shot at Michelle Obama.

I’m surprised he didn’t take any real shots at Obama. I suspect this is coming, particularly from Giuliani, but we’ll see how tough they get with him.

All the red meat attacks seem to be against “liberals” and the East Coast elite. I don’t know if this is going to work. Sure, the base will get excited, but will independents and young voters react to this? Is this starting to look a little like 1992?

Anyways, I wish McCain had picked this guy. He’s such a putz.

Due to the large Mormon population in several Western states, it raises the question of whether adding Mitt Romney to the ticket would help McCain hold these states.

Romney performed well in many Western states during the GOP primaries, but his faith proved to be a big liability among the evangelical Christians who make up the base of the Republican Party. Many are deeply suspicious of Mormons, forcing Romney to give a speech explaining his beliefs in an effort to quell their concerns.

For the general election, the West, especially the Southwest, rises in strategic significance for both candidates, and Mormons are gaining more attention given their wide dispersion across the region. Although church members are heavily concentrated in Utah, where they make up more than 70 percent of the population, according to church figures, they also top 7 percent of Nevada’s population and 2 percent of Colorado’s, enough to tilt a tight race.

Romney should give McCain a boost in the Mormon community, though McCain should already be doing well with those voters.

As Janey Napolitano points out, the Hispanic community is much more important.

“Obviously, if he picks Romney, it makes a strong play for the Mormon vote, but I don’t know that that decides the West,” said Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, an immensely popular Democrat in McCain’s home state. In an interview, Napolitano said Romney’s reputation for changing his position on issues will not play well with Western voters, who she said tend to like independent pragmatists.

What matters more, Napolitano said, are Latinos, who constitute more than 38 percent of the voters in New Mexico and about 27 percent in Arizona. She argued that McCain’s disavowal of his own failed attempt at immigration reform will cut into his support with this more powerful voting bloc.

Romney was outspoken on the immigration issue, and this would further alienate Hispanic voters. Thus, he could be a net negative in those states.

The Joe Biden pick complicates things for John McCain as he considers his choice for a running mate. Bill Kristol points out some of the drawbacks of selecting Tim Pawlenty or Mitt Romney.

The two leading G.O.P. prospects have been Tim Pawlenty, the Minnesota governor, and Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor. But with Biden’s foreign policy experience as a contrast, could McCain assure voters that the young Pawlenty is ready to take over, if need be, as commander in chief? Also, Biden is a strong and experienced debater. Pawlenty is unproven. If he is the choice, there will be many anxious Republicans in the run-up to the vice presidential debate in St. Louis on Oct. 2.

Romney might match up better against Biden in debate. But it’s clear that the Obama-Biden campaign is moving aggressively to embrace a traditional Democratic populist economic message. Such a message will have appeal this year — especially, one supposes, against a doubly multimansioned G.O.P. ticket of McCain and Romney.

It’s hard to imagine Pawlenty going up against Biden. Also, Pawlenty made comments last month basically praising Barack Obama’s positive message and arguing that the GOP needs to move away from negative campaigning. Those words will present problems for McCain. Kristol also states the obvious - Romney’s wealth will reinforce the populaist message from the Democrats, and Romney’s history of being involved with companies that laid off thousands of workers won’t help.

Kristol goes on to argue for Joe Lieberman, the ultimate neocon. This would be a gift to the Obama camapign, as there would be a revolt among pro-life conservatives if Lieberman is added to the ticket. McCain has already trashed his image as a “moderate” as he’s embraced his far-right positions on abortion, judges and taxes. Adding Leiberman would confuse that message and undermine all the progress he’s made getting Republicans to come home and support his candidacy. Let’s hope he listens to Kristol.