Take note, John McCain: Mitt Romney is your ticket to the White House, said Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah.

"John McCain has not asked for my advice, but I hope I can be objective enough to say to him the smartest thing you could do would be to pick Mitt Romney" as a running mate, Bennett told the Deseret Morning News editorial board on Friday.

The former Romney supporter admits "I am not the most objective guy when it comes to Mitt Romney," but Bennett said the facts support his assertion that Romney would be McCain's best pick for vice president on the Republican ticket.

Romney won nearly as many votes and states as McCain. But the Arizona senator won a number of key states with more delegates, like New Hampshire, Florida, South Carolina, California and New York.

Utah's "favorite son" dropped his own bid for the White House after a disappointing finish in last month's Super Tuesday elections.

Still, Romney's numbers in the primary were enough to impress Bennett. "Those are pretty good credentials for a running mate who appeals to a portion of the Republican base that is suspicious about McCain," Bennett said.

Bennett said a McCain-Romney ticket would provide a great "counterbalance."

McCain is an expert in foreign affairs. But as the nation focuses its attention on the slumping economy, tapping Romney's "managerial record" running a company, the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and the state of Massachusetts seems like the easy choice, Bennett said.

"You take that ticket to the country and say, 'Here's the guy spending his whole career learning about foreign affairs and national security. Here's the guy who's built his career as a sound manager and administrator and dealing with economic issues,"' Bennett said. "This is your balanced ticket."

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E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com