would Christie as VP make Pennsylvania a toss-up?

[ShadowOfTheWave]

Do veep picks ever bring states into play that other wise wouldn't have been?

NO.

Yes, they do. 

Muskie brought Maine to Humphrey which Nixon would otherwise have carried.

Gore might well have tipped Tennessee to Clinton in 1996.

Bricker tipped Ohio to Dewey in 1944.

I think Stevenson brought Illinois to Cleveland in 1892.

There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that any of those victories were directly related to the veep pick.

Why else would Maine have gone so solidy for Humphrey?

[Erc]

Wouldn't the prototypical example (some might say) be Texas in 1960 with 'Landslide' Lyndon helping to carry the state for Kennedy?

Very different era, of course.

[wormyguy]

Lyndon "helped" in a very proactive manner, of course.

[perdedor]

Do veep picks ever bring states into play that other wise wouldn't have been?

NO.

Yes, they do. 

Muskie brought Maine to Humphrey which Nixon would otherwise have carried.

Gore might well have tipped Tennessee to Clinton in 1996.

Bricker tipped Ohio to Dewey in 1944.

I think Stevenson brought Illinois to Cleveland in 1892.

There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that any of those victories were directly related to the veep pick.

Why else would Maine have gone so solidy for Humphrey?

I don't know much about either Maine or the 1968 Presidential Election. My best guess is that it was the beginning of realignment. Massive landslides in 64 and 72 made it hard to gauge, perhaps it was the result of continued distaste with the post-Goldwater GOP (Johnson won Maine by 37 points)?

[Wrecking Ball and Chain]

Maine in 1968 might work as an example, but Muskie was actually a very popular important figure in Maine politics for over a decade, not a first term Governor with about average approval ratings from a neighboring state.

[Wrecking Ball and Chain]

And on a serious note, I think Romney's going to explicitly ignore anyone in office less than a full term, just to avoid the possibility of another Palin fiasco.

Romney needs some really boring white guy who no one will pay attention to. Christie's bully reputation and the fact that he probably hasn't been really vetted and no one from NJ can be assumed to be clean means he doesn't qualify.

[Landslide Lyndon]

And on a serious note, I think Romney's going to explicitly ignore anyone in office less than a full term, just to avoid the possibility of another Palin fiasco.

Romney needs some really boring white guy who no one will pay attention to. Christie's bully reputation and the fact that he probably hasn't been really vetted and no one from NJ can be assumed to be clean means he doesn't qualify.

And that's why he will probably pick Rob Portman.

[Senator Napoleon]

Close enough proximity to New Jersey that I don't see why not. It probably wouldn't give Mitt anymore than a 4% boost though.

[Proud Lieberal from Northeast]

Maine was not even a close state in 1968 so it's possible that even without Muskie, Humphrey would carry it. Ironically, Agnew failed to deliver Maryland, his own home state, to Nixon.

[Senator Napoleon]

And on a serious note, I think Romney's going to explicitly ignore anyone in office less than a full term, just to avoid the possibility of another Palin fiasco.

Romney needs some really boring white guy who no one will pay attention to. Christie's bully reputation and the fact that he probably hasn't been really vetted and no one from NJ can be assumed to be clean means he doesn't qualify.

"No one from NJ  can be assumed to be clean."
Look, I am not a Jersey fan either but the other state you're likely to hear something like this said about is Illinois, Obama's own state, and he is pretty clean. Never say never.

Romney has better reasons not to pick Christie and Christie has better reasons not to accept

[A dog on every car, a car in every elevator]

Romney just insulted a bakery beloved in Pennsylvania...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/19/romney-cookie-pennsylvania-bakery_n_1436333.html

He's probably finished there unless he can revisit the bakery with a running mate whose passion for cookies is such that he single-handedly makes their profits skyrocket.  Romney Campaign would have to vet Christie very carefully to see if he's a man who enjoys eating cookies or not.

[Keystone Phil]

Romney just insulted a bakery beloved in Pennsylvania...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/19/romney-cookie-pennsylvania-bakery_n_1436333.html

He's probably finished there unless he can revisit the bakery with a running mate whose passion for cookies is such that he single-handedly makes their profits skyrocket.  Romney Campaign would have to vet Christie very carefully to see if he's a man who enjoys eating cookies or not.

I knew he'd make a Kerry-esque "cheesesteak with Swiss cheese" remark. Didn't know it would come so soon!

[True Federalist]

I don't care for Romney, but this is pretty weak flub.  It's fairly obvious he meant to indicate that they looked like they were professionally made cookies instead of homemade.  Of course, why he thinks 7-Eleven denotes quality is something I wouldn't care to have to explain.