Michael Barone makes an interesting observation in his latest column.

For a dozen years, our politics has been bitterly polarized, dominated by two baby boomer presidents who happen to have personal characteristics that people on the other side of the cultural divide absolutely loathe. Clinton in 1992 and Bush in 2000 both made genuine efforts to run as unifiers, but once in office proved to be dividers.

I personally don't find either loathsome, but I've talked to enough people who do loath one, the other or both to get a sense of the dynamic. We are dealing with a cultural chasm that is both a regional phenomenon and a matter of class. Almost nothing made that clearer than Howard Dean's complete ignorance of any points south of New Jersey. His comments about hicks in pick-up trucks with confederate flags in the rear windows was a remark of profound ignorance, but perfectly reflective of Yankee parochialism.

Jimmy Carter was an early effort to bridge the gap between the Northeast and the rest of the country, but ultimately Carter was just too southern for the Yankees, and they turned on him.

Clinton was a more fine-tuned effort, and perhaps the best to date--a son of the South, but educated at Oxford and the finest Yankee universities. He was and is, comfortable in all parts of the country. His trick is that he looks like he belongs wherever he is. What finally upset his applecart was essentially a "preacher sex scandal". Sons of the south are every bit the horn dogs that their Yankee cousins are, but more idealistic about the behavior of their preachers and presidents.

If the president is "likable" across the range of American subcultures, then he has a huge advantage going into an election and into office. People vote for who they "like" in a presidential election and they give the benefit of the doubt to a president with sympatico.

If Democrats are smart they'd nominate Barack Obama, the clear leader in the charm department. Hillary of course is widely expected to be the nominee, which of course would be a wonderful gift to the Republicans--IF they are wise enough to chose a candidate who can bridge the culture gap and appeal broadly to the American electorate.

The Republican candidates are breaking cover this week and in the weeks to come and I think its vitally important to ask the question--can this guy (no women appear to be vying for the nomination) appeal to Yankees and Southerners?

Rudy Guiliani? My personal affinity for him perhaps colors my judgment--I think he's a charming guy. Does his charm carry over to Texas? California?, Alabama? Perhaps not. He is unabashedly a New Yorker down to the marrow in his bones. I'll always recall a conversation I had with a guy I met in southern Georgia almost 20 years ago--"...there's something wrong with them Yankees..." Of course in 20 years, a lot of those "wrong" Yankees have relocated to Florida, Atlanta, the Carolinas and other points south. Nevertheless, New York is still a cultural island for which the rest of the country has considerable resentment.

John McCain? I'm not so enthusiastic about McCain on a personal basis. McCain has a lot of strengths, but I don't think his personality is one of them. He elicits respect, but not fondness.

Mitt Romney? Romney isn't yet a nationally familiar figure, but during the winter Olympics here in Utah, he was very accessible and what I observed I liked very much. If I were to compare him to an historical figure, I would pick FDR.

Romney balances charm and humor with a certain reservedness that suggests that you don't quite get to see the machinery. In fact he is so reflexively polite, humorous and charming that you wonder if perhaps there is any machinery at all. Its literally a case of "too good to be true". Every aspect of his presence just screams alpha male. He's unbelievably handsome, always well-groomed. His posture perfect, his walk confident and athletic, his gestures natural but restrained. He is a man who appears to be in perfect balance. You'd have to go to school to learn to comport yourself like this, but Romney does it naturally.

At the end of the day, he reminds me of someone--Reagan. This is a guy who looks comfortable anywhere he is. He can schmooze with the Brahmins and eat barbecue with the Bubbas.

Other candidates may also have the charm factor, but aren't well-known enough to have left an impression yet. In any event, primary voters should take the charm factor into serious consideration. It could very well be the difference between winning and losing in 2008, and creating public consensus in government.