Good points, Verginius Rufus. And I might add, Dan Quayle, another Midwesterner and actual Hoosier as an example.
I like Quayle, but Bush sent him out there with inadequate preparation and the media created a negative image of him before he knew what hit him. If Bush had picked someone more experienced in 1988 (say Kemp) it would have been better. Quayle’s career seems to be over after his unsuccessful run for President (still burdened by the media caricature of him). If he had stayed in the Senate and built up more of a record he would have been more credible as a Presidential candidate. But hindsight is always 20/20.