Paul Ryan to the Frontlines

I didn’t want to believe it last night, but the news was confirmed early this morning: Paul Ryan is Mitt Romney’s running mate.

As of right now, I couldn’t be happier with the decision. As a fan of Tim Pawlenty and Rob Portman I was prepared, even excited, for their rather vanilla potential announcements. Instead, we got a banana split in Paul Ryan.

The Ryan pick changes a lot of things. The election has always been a referendum on Obama. However, to have a successful referendum, you must present a viable alternative. While Romney always was viable, the differences are now more stark, and the decision between Romney and Obama is no longer entirely one of picking the “lesser of two evils.” This gives Romney much more substance, and as he said he was looking for, “a vision for the future.”

What’s even better is Paul Ryan now moves to the frontlines of the debate. Ryan has been leading the charge for Medicare and budget reform for the GOP, but the coverage of a presidential election gives Ryan a soap box he has never had before. As the greatest spokesman for conservatism out there right now, that’s an exciting prospect. I can’t wait until his convention speech and debate with Joe Biden in Danville, Kentucky.

In a way, Ryan is the scariest choice of all for the Republicans because as the budget chairman himself has said, “people are scared of entitlement reform because every time you put entitlement reform out there, the other party uses it as a political weapon against you.” The Ryan choice proves Romney and the GOP is over that fear. We’re ready to do what is needed to be done.

But first, Romney/Ryan 2012 has to win.

(Photo credit: Gage Skidmore)