Barack Obama last week made his first truly important decision as a presidential contender, and it is certainly an interesting one. Nothing says “change” quite like choosing a consummate D.C.-insider, someone who’s spent 36 of his 66 years as a United States senator, as a running mate.

But Joe Biden does make for an important part of John McCain’s calculus when he considers who might run with him for vice president. McCain’s nominee will have to be someone who cannot just satisfy the base with his conservative credentials, this person will have to electrify them. Someone who can go toe-to-toe with Senator Biden on the dais at debates, who connects with people on a personal level, while at the same time being able to handle important issues of domestic and economic policy. Someone who can help the GOP win in places like Pennsylvania and Ohio, while at the same time forcing the Democrats to fight in places that they haven’t had to for a long time.

That person is Michael Steele, former lieutenant governor of Maryland.

The fact that Steele is black is ancillary. But Michael Steele is Catholic, and unlike Joe Biden he takes his Catholicism seriously. He has long been recognized, and lauded, by the conservative Catholic activist community, and a number of that movement’s leaders have been pushing for Steele at the highest levels of the McCain campaign and the RNC. Pollsters from around the nation have been saying for months that the Catholic bloc is at great play in this election, and Steele on the ticket helps shore that up.

And nowhere is that battle to be fought harder than in Pennsylvania. Unlike Biden, who seems to only spend time in the eastern part of the state, Michael Steele has traveled throughout the Keystone State, working with Republican activist groups to bring them the forward-thinking strategies that he formulated as head of the Maryland GOP, strategies that brought the Maryland GOP victory. They are some of his strongest supporters, and could work to move Pennsylvania into Red territory more effectively than a Tom Ridge or an Ohioan on the ticket.

Because of his presence and name recognition in the northeast, Steele also forces the Obama campaign to spend money in places they wouldn’t have to otherwise. Steele could chip away in important media markets in New York and New Jersey. While a GOP win in either of these states would be difficult, the fact is that Obama couldn’t take these states for granted, and monies that would be spent in the New York media market are monies that Obama couldn’t spend in the west, states he is trying desperately to turn blue.

But most importantly, millions around the country have gotten to know Michael Steele through his work at GOPAC and his work as a commentator on Fox News. He is a much sought-after speaker because he is dynamic on the podium — and not just in that broad, rhetorical sort of way. Steele understands the intricacies of public policy (because, unlike Biden and Obama, he’s actually had to directly implement public policy) and connects with his audiences on a personal level, so that they really understand what he is saying. When he was running in 2002, people all around Maryland would comment about how Steele “gets it” when it comes to things like small-business and education policy.

It is for this reason that the McCain campaign and the RNC selected Steele to have one of their limited speaking spots at the convention next week. They know that both attendees and those watching from home are going to need to be inspired if they are to be galvanized to win in November, and that Michael Steele can do this, because he inspires people regularly.

Steele represents the best of the Republican party, and reflects what the future of the Republican party looks like: committed conservatives who understand real people and can inspire them to do great things. Ultimately, that’s what any vice-presidential pick ought to be, not the archetype of the party’s past, but a vision of what it can and will be.

– Andrew Langer is the president of the Institute for Liberty, a non-profit advocacy organization focused on small business and entrepreneurship. He is the elector for Maryland’s 1st Congressional District.