Romney picks Paul Ryan as his running mate **official thread**

[GM Griffin]

Interesting possibility: assuming Obama wins WI, this will be the first race since 1968 that all four candidates end up coming from Democratic states.

[The Mikado]

Romney's forced himself into the message of running with the Courageous (TM) man who Speaks Unpleasant Truths (TM) and Tells America The Things It Doesn't Want To Hear (TM) (which is the only positive way you can frame Paul Ryan).  Which would be a decent campaign strategy for John McCain, but not Willard Mitt Romney (has Mitt Romney ever told anyone something he didn't want to hear, other than "You're fired?").

[True Federalist]

Oh cool, thanks for Florida's electoral votes Mitt.

Do you really think Ryan as VP will push Florida towards Obama?

Paul "Let's replace Medicare with health insurance coupons" Ryan will only hurt Mitt Romney in Florida.

I wouldn't be so sure. Romney and Rove are gonna let out a blitz of ads defining Ryan AND the Budget before Obama can. I think my fellow Democrats are getting complacent.

I'm certain that Obama's campaign and his Super PAC have prepared ads for all of the touted short listers.  They'll be running by tonight and be up on the internet by ten this morning.  Only way Romney could hope to get a jump on the opposition concerning the veep announcement would be to have chosen someone not on the media short list.

[Politico]

These sources may be as right Reid's source. Great way to destroy the credibility of anonymous sources...

[BushKenya]

good selection by romney, ryan will add more to that ticket than people think.

[J. J.]

Do you think this is a better candidate than Palin?

Yes.  He basically has more experience than Obama had, and a greater leadership role in the House.  Considered to have "gravitas."  Younger.  Holds the right while Romney tries for the center.

Will bring the focus on the economy.

Probably does help out in WI, IA and OH.  May help out in the South (VA, NC).

Problems are with seniors and Hispanics.  Problems with FL, CO, NV, NM, even AZ.  Little help in the Northeast.

A potentially good choice, but not a great one.

[So the Heroes Fall]

So two disastrous VP picks in a row by the GOP.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

I bet Kathy Hochul is laughing so hard that tears are coming out.

[Tender Branson]

Mitt Romney could just be massively attention-whoring and then pick someone else ...

[Bacon King]

I'm still hesitant to trust the rumors of Paul Ryan being the guy... but I guess it fits.

[Mr. Morden]

Guys, it isn't "rumors".  CNN says they have three different GOP sources confirming this.  NBC, the AP, etc. have multiple sources.  The Romney campaign is obviously watching all of this.  If it wasn't Ryan, it would be kind of a humiliation for him, to have this many news outlets saying it's him, and then for Romney to pick someone else.  The Romney campaign would have put out a statement correcting the record by now if it wasn't true.

[True Federalist]

Do you think this is a better candidate than Palin?

Yes.  He basically has more experience than Obama had, and a greater leadership role in the House.  Considered to have "gravitas."  Younger.  Holds the right while Romney tries for the center.

Will bring the focus on the economy.

Probably does help out in WI, IA and OH.  May help out in the South (VA, NC).

Problems are with seniors and Hispanics.  Problems with FL, CO, NV, NM, even AZ.  Little help in the Northeast.

A potentially good choice, but not a great one.

I think Ryan could help out in NH.  Granite Staters are an odd bunch and worry a bit more about deficits than is typical.  Whatever one may think of Ryan's proposal of how to get there, he certainly is the most serious of the short-listers when it comes to tackling the deficit.

I doubt he helps enough in Wisconsin to deliver the state in a close national election.  Nuevo Mexico was never in play no matter who was picked.

[Keystone Phil]

For the record, I posted this as "NBC News: Sources say it's Paul Ryan." It was changed by a moderator at some point on the last page. If I wake up in a few hours to a big surprise, I don't want to be blamed for saying the Ryan news was official.

[asexual trans victimologist]

Okay. We'll see how this plays out. My thoughts, in no particular order:

There are definitely points of view from which this is a good pick, but I'd caution anybody inclined to use phrases like 'game-changer' to adjust their expectations a bit. Romney was pretty strongly associated with Ryan and his ilk anyway. All this changes is putting an anodyne and (relatively) articulate face on that, which I'm not so sure will sway many people at this point.

Could help with turnout, but that'll be a double-edge sword.

Ryan helps, if he does so anywhere, in his own state (likely not enough), Iowa (if it's enough, it'll be enough due to factors including but not limited to Paul Ryan), and New Hampshire (Ryan might shake things up a bit here, for reasons that Ernest indicated). Possibly Virginia. I'm not convinced about anywhere else, except states that Romney's leading in anyway (I include North Carolina in this category). He doesn't hurt in Ohio. He might hurt in Florida and the West.

Romney might end up being overshadowed the same way McCain was, but I'm not sure Ryan has the pizzazz/novelty factor of early-period Palin.

There are a lot worse picks Romney could have made, and I was obviously hoping he'd make them, but I'm pretty sure there were better picks too.

[Lief]

Guys, it isn't "rumors".  CNN says they have three different GOP sources confirming this.  NBC, the AP, etc. have multiple sources.  The Romney campaign is obviously watching all of this.  If it wasn't Ryan, it would be kind of a humiliation for him, to have this many news outlets saying it's him, and then for Romney to pick someone else.  The Romney campaign would have put out a statement correcting the record by now if it wasn't true.

Also the fact that it's going to be on the U.S.S. Wisconsin is a pretty obvious confirmation. You don't put Paul Ryan on your heavily publicized shortlist, pick a boat named after his home state, and then announce that it's someone else. Mitt Romney may be a heartless monster, but he wouldn't be that cruel.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Hearing the media rhapsodize about Paul Ryan will be difficult but it'll be worth it for the inevitable payoff when he drags Romney to even an more disastrous performance in November. No matter how good the salesman is, if the product is utter excrement, it can't be sold. There's no way to paint Ryan's ideology as appealing, especially with a caricature like Romney as the front man for it.

[Politico]

Guys, it isn't "rumors".  CNN says they have three different GOP sources confirming this.  NBC, the AP, etc. have multiple sources.  The Romney campaign is obviously watching all of this.  If it wasn't Ryan, it would be kind of a humiliation for him, to have this many news outlets saying it's him, and then for Romney to pick someone else.  The Romney campaign would have put out a statement correcting the record by now if it wasn't true.

Also the fact that it's going to be on the U.S.S. Wisconsin is a pretty obvious confirmation. You don't put Paul Ryan on your heavily publicized shortlist, pick a boat named after his home state, and then announce that it's someone else. Mitt Romney may be a heartless monster, but he wouldn't be that cruel.

If Ryan knows he's not the guy, and agrees to play mind games, what is the harm in leaking false info to liberal outlets and letting it get out of control? Especially if you release the tax returns at the same time. One, you destroy the credibility of anonymous sources. Two, you expose what a massive fraud Reid's tax claim was, and how the media is desperate to get Obama help. Three, the Obama campaign ends up wasting all night getting ready to cream Ryan in the morning. Four, people will talk about all of this right up till the convention. Most importantly, the tax issue is buried and anonymous sources are a joke for the rest of the campaign.

The choice is not official until Romney says so. When advisors to GW Bush went to sleep the day before the announcement of his running mate in 1988, they thought Danforth was the guy. Bush broke shocking news to his advisors the next morning.

[asexual trans victimologist]

Guys, it isn't "rumors".  CNN says they have three different GOP sources confirming this.  NBC, the AP, etc. have multiple sources.  The Romney campaign is obviously watching all of this.  If it wasn't Ryan, it would be kind of a humiliation for him, to have this many news outlets saying it's him, and then for Romney to pick someone else.  The Romney campaign would have put out a statement correcting the record by now if it wasn't true.

Also the fact that it's going to be on the U.S.S. Wisconsin is a pretty obvious confirmation. You don't put Paul Ryan on your heavily publicized shortlist, pick a boat named after his home state, and then announce that it's someone else. Mitt Romney may be a heartless monster, but he wouldn't be that cruel.

If Ryan knows he's not the guy, and agrees to this ruse, what is the harm in leaking false info to liberal outlets and letting it get out of control? Especially if you release the tax returns at the same time. One, you destroy the credibility of anonymous sources. Two, you expose what a massive fraud Reid's tax claim was, and how the media is desperate to get Obama help. Three, the Obama campaign ends up wasting all night getting ready to cream Ryan in the morning. Four, people will talk about all of this right up till the convention. Most importantly, the tax issue is buried and anonymous sources are a joke for the rest of the campaign.

The choice is not official until Romney says so. When advisors to GW Bush went to sleep the day before the announcement, they thought Danforth was the guy. Bush broke shocking news to his advisors the next morning.

He's announcing on the USS Wisconsin, bro. His campaign's also never really been good at controlling the flow of information.

[Politico]

Guys, it isn't "rumors".  CNN says they have three different GOP sources confirming this.  NBC, the AP, etc. have multiple sources.  The Romney campaign is obviously watching all of this.  If it wasn't Ryan, it would be kind of a humiliation for him, to have this many news outlets saying it's him, and then for Romney to pick someone else.  The Romney campaign would have put out a statement correcting the record by now if it wasn't true.

Also the fact that it's going to be on the U.S.S. Wisconsin is a pretty obvious confirmation. You don't put Paul Ryan on your heavily publicized shortlist, pick a boat named after his home state, and then announce that it's someone else. Mitt Romney may be a heartless monster, but he wouldn't be that cruel.

If Ryan knows he's not the guy, and agrees to this ruse, what is the harm in leaking false info to liberal outlets and letting it get out of control? Especially if you release the tax returns at the same time. One, you destroy the credibility of anonymous sources. Two, you expose what a massive fraud Reid's tax claim was, and how the media is desperate to get Obama help. Three, the Obama campaign ends up wasting all night getting ready to cream Ryan in the morning. Four, people will talk about all of this right up till the convention. Most importantly, the tax issue is buried and anonymous sources are a joke for the rest of the campaign.

The choice is not official until Romney says so. When advisors to GW Bush went to sleep the day before the announcement, they thought Danforth was the guy. Bush broke shocking news to his advisors the next morning.

He's announcing on the USS Wisconsin, bro. His campaign's also never really been good at controlling the flow of information.

Obvious misdirection is obvious? There are a number of potential veeps in Washington, DC right now. This is a golden opportunity to destroy the credibility of anonymous sources. Maybe get the tax returns out of the way at the same time.

I gotta go, folks. Tune in tomorrow morning. Maybe it's Ryan or maybe it's somebody else.

[LINCOLN REPUBLICAN]

The entire nation is going to be taken by complete surprise when Mitt appears on stage Saturday morning with Condi.  

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

LOL at how the biggest Romney supporters are desperately hoping it's not Ryan.

[Progressive Realist]

The entire nation is going to be taken by complete surprise when Mitt appears on stage Saturday morning with Condi.  

...

el-oh-el

[Mr. Morden]

http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/11/13227745-pawlenty-im-not-disappointed?lite

Confirming that he will not be traveling to Virginia tomorrow for Mitt Romney's formal announcement of a running mate, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said late Friday night that he is "not disappointed" about not being on the GOP ticket.

"I didn't enter this thinking I was going to be the vice presidential candidate, so I'm not disappointed," Pawlenty said of his advocacy for Romney since endorsing him last year. "And I'm excited about his candidacy, and I'm excited about having him be the next president."

[All life is a blur of Republicans and meat.]

I want Torie's reaction to this.

[Bacon King]

What about this?

http://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=154106.msg3380812#msg3380812

A plane flying from Boston, to CHRIS CHRISTIE'S HOMETOWN, to Chesapeake certainly seems to stand out a bit for me.