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There is no other good reason for John McCain to pick Charlie Crist as his running mate than the fact that he is the governor of the most important swing state, Florida.

Before we get to why that's so important, first know that Crist is not the most qualified politician on McCain's short list of running mates. He has been governor for fewer than two years. He failed the bar exam twice before eventually making it to the Florida Senate in 1992. Does he have any experience in the U.S. Senate? Sort of: He lost the 1998 election by 26 percent to Democrat Bob Graham.

He was, however, the state's attorney general from 2003 to 2007, and has previous legal experience in minor league baseball and his own private practice.

Which brings us to why none of this matters: Florida.

Crist is a handsome, always-tanned 51-year-old jock with angel-white hair. Every now and then he'll appear on Capitol Hill with a Florida senator like Mel Martinez, and he sticks out like a supermodel at a Star Wars convention.

That's exactly what McCain needs to fill in the blank slate in his ticket. The Arizona senator has to win Florida to win the election. This is the state that his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, promptly ignored during the primary as he and has-been Hillary Clinton only campaigned in the states whose votes weren't nullified by their party.

So Florida, deemed a "battleground" state by political analysts who wish they were four-star generals, is leaning Republican and still reeling from an awkward Democratic primary. Crist's selection as a potential VP would solidify the Sunshine State's 27 electoral votes. Here are some quick balance-the-ticket qualifications:

Experience: He has a little, but McCain has lots.
Age: He's young enough to be McCain's son.
Diversity: He's practically darker than Barack Obama.
Charm: Check.

Crist has also appeared with McCain more often on the campaign trail than most other hopefuls looking to get the VP nod. Is he interested in the slot? Probably. TIME reported in June that the governor has been backtracking a bit on his environmental victories in light of McCain's support of offshore drilling.

The question for McCain is this: Will he take a gamble on Crist's short track record in exchange for a sure-thing victory in Florida in November?