After oddly describing the South, the home of the Republican base, as his "away game," it appears Mitt Romney's strategy to capture the Southern vote is to bombard Southerners with his newfound love for grits and clunkily giving them his best "y'all."

This Southern offensive started last night (video above), with Romney campaigning in Mississippi. "I am learning to say y'all and I like grits, and things," he says. "Strange things are happening to me." The Romney "y'all" comes around 25 seconds and it's certainly isn't as flowery as Paula Deen's. 

Romney was at it again this morning too.The Los Angeles Times' Maeve Reston tweeted: 

Romney tries out a twang in Jackson, Miss.: "Mornin' Y'all!" Says he had a biscuit with cheesy grits this morning for breakfast.

— Maeve Reston(@MaeveReston) March 9, 2012

Yes we know Mitt Romney has tried and failed in many attempts to relate to the common man and woman, and this might be just another clunky example of that. But we wonder: Wouldn't it have been more beneficial if Romney had learned to say "y'all" and eat grits during the 2008 South Carolina primary?

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Alexander Abad-Santos