[img_assist|nid=574|title=U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R)|desc=Getty Image|link=none|align=left|width=385|height=269]

With the political world debating the merits of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama's selecting U.S. Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate, prominent Bay State Republicans mulled over whether the pick would help or hurt former Gov. Mitt Romney's chance at the No. 2 slot on John McCain's ticket.

And, surprisingly, many had very different opinions.

Some said Obama's choice won't influence McCain. "I think it has zero impact on who McCain's going to pick," said Ron Kaufman, a Boston GOP strategist who would like McCain to pick Romney. "None whatsoever."

Kaufman was working for George H.W. Bush when Ronald Reagan tapped him to be his running mate in the 1980 election. He was also involved in the decision making process with Bush picked Dan Quayle in 1988.

In selecting a running mate, there is one criteria that trumps all others, Kaufman said, and Romney satisfies it. "In the end the job of the vice presidential candidate is to keep the spotlight on the presidential candidate," he said. "I think Mitt would do a great job of keeping that spotlight on McCain."

Kaufman also said that Obama picked Biden because the recent conflict in Georgia highlighted Obama's foreign policy credentials. "[Russian President Dmitry] Medvedev is the guy that influenced Obama in choosing Biden."

Others said Obama tapping Biden could slightly boost Romney's chances. State Rep. Brad Jones Jr. (R-North Reading) said that one of the knocks against McCain picking Romney was the criticisms they fired at each other during the primary contest. Jones noted that Biden was hypercritical of Obama during the Democratic primary, so Obama's choice could "undercut the concern that you can't pick Romney because they didn't get along."

By picking Biden, Jones said, Obama picked a Washington insider. Romney, in contrast, could also help McCain by adding Washington outsider to the ticket. "That was one of the key things Romney ran on," Jones said, "that he can go to Washington, take an outsiders perspective and change the way things are done."

Jones also said that Romney could hold his own in the vice presidential debate against Biden. "Romney demonstrated that he is a very good debater in the primaries," he said."

However, Jones also said that Biden's selection doesn't add much to Romney's chances.

And yet others said it hurts Romney's chances. Todd Domke, a veteran Boston Republican strategist, said Biden's selection all but rules out Romney being chosen by McCain. For one, "Biden is a very good debater and it's not very difficult to imagine him out-debating Romney," he said. "And not just on foreign policy. He would really make Romney look bad."

"Romney doesn't know much about foreign policy and the gap between them would be striking," he went on. "It's not that McCain's running mate needs to be strong on foreign policy, but he has to at least be able to talk sensibly about it."

But most importantly, Biden's appeal to blue collar America undercuts Romney's chances, Domke said. With McCain taking criticism from the Obama camp over not knowing how many houses he owns, Romney's wealth would only help to cement a message that the Republican ticket is out of touch with middle America, Domke said.

"Romney owns four different mansions," Domke said. "It would be a dream come true for the Democrats to have these two guys on the ticket. Biden will love to play the populist demagogue and he's much better at going on the attack than Obama is."

"I couldn't imagine Biden wanting anyone other than Romney to run against," Domke concluded.