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

[Politico]

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

[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.

[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.

[Politico]

Romney family urged Mitt to go with his gut and pick Ryan, while his campaign advisors expressed skepticism:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/the-romney-family-takes-charge

To be fair, we saw what happened to McCain when he went with his advisors' pick.

Most of McCain's advisors wanted to play it "safe" and pick Pawlenty, and he overruled them.

Yes, but it was my understanding that McCain's favorite advisor recommended Palin as a "game changer."

Of course, Mitt's favorite advisor is Ann.