It's time for Mitt Romney to roll up those perfectly tailored sleeves and get his hands greasy. Not dirty. Greasy. As in, "I need a napkin because I just ate a lot of this not-so-nutritious-but-oh-so-delicious southern food."
It won't be easy otherwise for him to connect with southern voters. He's Mormon; they're not. He's extremely wealthy; they've been slow to recover from the jolts of 2008 and 2009. They love NASCAR and college football. He doesn't do sports. And his record so far—losses in South Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Georgia—suggest the romance has, to say the least, not reached full bloom.
But the truth is Romney's southern woes will extend only through the primary season. Once November rolls around, it will be a contest between a big-government Democrat and a Republican who, at least, talks of fiscal responsibility. And, in that contest, Romney will view the South as a strength, not a weakness.
