From Birmingham, Alabama -
If there is one thing southerners are naturally suspicious of, it is someone who is from not just "The North," but someone from the big cities of the Washington to Boston corridor on the East Coast of the United States.
I learned that lesson pretty early on in my freshmen year at college when my roommate, a proud southerner from Atlanta, once tried to register his opinion with his fists when I told him that Washington, D.C. was actually south of the Mason-Dixon line.
So I could understand the reaction when Mitt Romney last week used words like "y'all" and "grits" in his stump speech, as it set off Political Yankee Radar alarm bells on the campaign trail in both Alabama and Mississippi.
In an event in Pascagoula, Mississippi on Friday, Romney tried to channel a little NASCAR-lovin-down-home-cooking-country-music-southern-Republican for the crowd; instead it turned one particular southern food into a GOP primary battleground.
"I'm learning to say 'y'all' and 'I like grits,'" Romney said to the crowd with a smile. "Strange things are happening to me," Romney added, alluding to how he was becoming an "unofficial southerner."
It was one of those things that might sound funny at first, but became more cringe inducing later on, especially when Romney had the lead singer of the band Alabama on stage with him, and asked him to sing "Sweet Home Alabama."
That would be the song made popular by the band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Romney's line about grits instantly became a campaign talking point as well as part of Newt Gingrich's stump speech this week in both Alabama and Mississippi.
Gingrich's basic thrust was simple - I Am A Southerner, Romney Is Not.
"I just want you to know that as a Georgian, I understand grits," Gingrich said to cheers at one of his weekend events.
"I even understand cheese grits," Gingrich added to more laughter.
While it might seem like a funny line, it was also a serious point of attack for Gingrich, who is hoping to add two more southern states to his victory category, along with Georgia and South Carolina.
"Governor Romney probably doesn't fit as the southern candidate," Gingrich said on Saturday.
On Monday, Romney will try to bring even more of a southern focus for his campaign, as after taking the weekend off, the GOP frontrunner will be joined by southern comedian Jeff Foxworthy at an event in Mobile, Alabama.
Foxworthy is well known for southern jokes in his comedic efforts, as it doesn't take much when you hear his name to conjure up thoughts of his funny lines and southern stories - and how that doesn't come close to describing Mitt Romney.
On the serious side, if Romney were to grind out two wins in Alabama and Mississippi, then maybe his new nickname on the campaign trail should be "Grits" Romney.
Romney is leading or near the top in polls in both of these states - we'll see tomorrow if "Mitt" or "Grits" shows up in the final results.
One final note - Romney's early morning appearance in Mobile is his only event of the day in either Alabama or Mississippi, as he will leave the Deep South well before the polls open on Tuesday.
