Mitt Romney didn’t announce he was running for President during his visit to Mississippi on Wednesday.

Romney, the Republican nominee for President in 2012, spoke at Lee Hall on the campus of Mississippi State University and a notable assemblage of national media made the trip, too, just in case.

In the absence of a grand proclamation, those who are anticipating a Romney run for the White House in 2016 were left to ponder whatever subtle indicators there might be that have tipped his hand.

There were times in his speech when Romney did, indeed, sound like a candidate, criticizing President Obama on his economic policy and both Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the presumed Democratic Party nominee, for their “soft” foreign policy.

Aside from that, if Romney does indeed plan to run, he was playing in awfully close to the vest during his brief visit to Mississippi.

Veteran political journalists from the New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, et al, apparently failed to note one significant event, however.

In the entire history of the United States, no presidential candidate who has ever eaten at Little Dooey has failed to win the presidency.

So when Romney visited Little Dooey in Starkville for lunch before Wednesday’s speech, you could make the argument — based on that unimpeachable fact — that Romney is all but assured victory, should he decide to run.

Admittedly, this projection is based on a pretty small sample size. Only one presidential candidate has eaten at Little Dooey. Obama dined at the Columbus Little Dooey while making at appearance at Mississippi University for Women in 2008. The rest, as they say, is history.

Let’s face it: Little Dooey is the dining equivalent to Ohio, politically speaking.

Even so, we can understand Romney’s reluctance to announce his bid this early. Once a candidate makes that announcement, it’s Fish Bowl time. Every word, every action, every sidewards glance, awkward laugh, misstep, fumble, clumsy comment or failed joke is inspected, dissected, analyzed and magnified. In a word, it’s brutal. We can understand why any candidate would not be eager for the clock to start ticking on that sort of ordeal.

This sort of scrutiny presents all sorts of potential problems when it comes to what politicos call “messaging.”

In that sense, a trip to a barbecue restaurant is perilous ground, since there are any number of groups that are convinced that theirs is not just the best kind of barbecue, it’s the only kind that any decent person would consider. Your choice of barbecue is a window into your soul, at least it is in some quarters.

A candidate who chooses a pulled pork sandwich will no doubt incur the wrath of the powerful Beef Lobby. Likewise, choosing a tomato-based sauce is certain to cost the candidate votes among the Vinegar Crowd, which is notorious for holding deep, powerful grudges.

Does the candidate have coleslaw on his sandwich? Or does he have it on the side? What would Jesus Do? Better yet, What Would Reagan Do?

These are matters worthy of careful consideration.

There are those who might want to argue that voters aren’t swayed by such “trivial” matters, of course.

But anyone who remembers Michael Dukakis in that tank or John Kerry wind-surfing isn’t at all so sure, especially if it’s a close call.

It’s far too early to project who will win in 2016, although we declare, based on the empirical Little Dooey evidence, that Romney is the front-runner even if he isn’t actually running just yet.

Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].