Mitt Romney
picked Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate on Saturday morning, surprising many, myself included, who thought he'd pick
long-time political ally Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio.
Ryan checks a number of boxes for Romney. He's a darling of conservatives because of his
hard-line stances on cutting the federal budget - known as the “Ryan Plan” - and his reputation as a deficit hawk. Ryan's selection also makes battleground state Wisconsin, where incumbent Republican Gov. Scott Walker
survived a hotly contested recall election earlier this year, more competitive. Romney has also elevated one of his party's young guns to a leadership role in the GOP, positioning him strongly for a run at the White House of his own in coming years.
However, the Ryan Plan will provide talking points for Democrats. Its provisions that would reform - Democrats would say “gut” or “eliminate” - Medicare and Medicaid proved controversial, to say the least. Romney
did not exactly embrace it during the GOP primaries.
Ryan is also considered a government wonk, having
worked in the public sector for most of his adult life. Some will argue this balances Romney's early emphasis on his
private-sector experience, others will contend it negates the former Massachusetts governor's insistence that business experience is a qualifier for the White House.
Curiously, Romney revealed his VP pick during the Olympic Games, which many pundits
felt he would not do because it would dull the announcement's impact. But with Romney
trailing President Barack Obama by as much as seven points in polls released this week, the Romney camp likely felt it needed to make a bold, immediate choice to
change the race's direction. Ryan has a chance to do that much more clearly than Portman or former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlentry would have.