ENDORSEMENT

Ohio always looms large in presidential politics, especially among Republicans. Beginning with Abraham Lincoln, no GOP candidate has ever been elected president without Ohio's electoral votes. In any Republican strategy to unseat President Barack Obama this November, Ohio is a must-win state.

As Ohio Republicans prepare to vote in Tuesday's primary, they need to remember the ultimate prize: winning in November. Doing so requires more than energizing the conservative base. The GOP needs a nominee who can appeal to swing voters and disaffected Democrats, because neither party can rely on its hard-core enthusiasts to carry this key swing state.

Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, is the only remaining Republican contender capable of that.

Romney, who turns 65 next week, served only a single term as governor, and by the standards of most serious presidential contenders, his political resume is short: two statewide campaigns and an unsuccessful bid for the GOP presidential nomination four years ago. Perhaps that is why he sometimes appears so awkward in public, especially when talking about himself and, in particular, his personal wealth.

But Romney's private-sector success is also critical to his appeal. He understands how businesses and investors make decisions. He has had to make tough choices, trade short-term pain for long-term gain. A serious debate between Romney and Obama about the proper role and size of government would be healthy for a nation facing grave fiscal challenges.

None of Romney's GOP rivals seem capable of such engagement -- or of appealing to a broad range of voters.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum keeps promising to focus on the economy -- especially the importance of American manufacturing -- but returns time and again to social issues. Religious conservatives may cheer, but he's out of step with moderate swing voters. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, as always, seems more grandiose than practical, and the hostility of so many former colleagues is telling. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is admirable for his consistency, but his libertarian, isolationist worldview is a poor fit to the nation's needs.

Consistency is certainly a problem for Romney. The one-time moderate has adjusted his positions on so many issues -- including abortion and gay rights -- that his core beliefs are a mystery. In this campaign, he has tried so hard to prove his conservative bona fides that he has undercut one of his greatest selling points: the pragmatism that enabled him to get things done as a Republican governor in one of the nation's most Democratic and liberal states.

The next president, regardless of party, will have to work in a Washington riven by partisan and ideological chasms. Romney ought not to shy from his proven ability to build bridges.

In fact, it is Romney's real-world experiences -- in business, as a governor and as the executive who rescued the Salt Lake City Olympics -- that set him apart from the GOP field. They are what make him, by far, the best choice for Ohio Republicans.