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Originally Posted by furball
Why? He's from Chicago, not the South. Or are you saying this on the basis of his military background?
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He grew up in Arkansas.
Kerry and Gore didn't lose 'because of Ohio' or 'because of Florida'. Surely those states are where the closest vote counts were recorded, but they lost because of their campaigns, their strategies, their platforms, and their ability to brand themselves as effective, charismatic leaders.
You have to target battleground states, yes, but losing those battleground states becomes less crucial, ideally even irrelevant, should a candidate take a state or two that their party is not traditionally picked to capture.
Should a Democratic nominee, for example, win the Carolinas, the focus on Florida is lessened. Should the Republican take Pennsylvania, the need to win Ohio is diminished. A great way to do this is to field a nominee from a battleground state or a state thats not traditionally in the party's camp. I.E. Romney from Massachusetts, Bill Richardson from Arizona, etc.
So I guess I'd revise my statement. Democratic candidates need to be either from the South or from Ohio. Get a leg up on the electoral college. But, considering the caliber of Florida Democrats...meh.