On Paul Ryan

Earlier today, Mitt Romney ended the suspense and finally announced his running mate: Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan. Prior to Friday night, many just floated his name cautiously, not really considering him a serious contender for the position. Some believed it would be former governor Tim Pawlenty, a strong Romney surrogate and certainly qualified for the number two slot. Others threw out the name of Ohio Senator Rob Portman, who was a safe, albeit uninteresting, choice. The name everyone looked to, however, was Marco Rubio, the freshman senator from Florida, as Romney's “bold” choice.

Now we'll only ever mention Senator Rubio again.

On to the real question: Is Congressman Ryan a good choice?

He is most certainly a bold choice. As someone who has seemed content running a “safe” campaign, Romney's selection of Paul Ryan introduces new variables into the campaign. The Ryan budgets of the past two years have been slandered and defamed. A political ad even showed a Ryan look-alike tossing an elderly woman over a cliff.

Many liberals I heard today practically slobbered with glee over the idea that the Ryan pick will push numbers from minorities, women and seniors all in Barack Obama's favor. Perhaps there is some merit to this line of thinking with the senior citizens, considering the apparent success of “Medi-scare,” of which the look-alike was a part. When you believe that an evil, heartless bogeyman from Wisconsin is about to take away your Medicare, regardless of the truth, it can be unsettling.

Otherwise, the assertion that it will hurt Romney among minorities and women is blatantly absurd. The chances of Romney not picking a very conservative running mate, who believed that abortion is wrong and that we should not fund people's sex lives, was slim. Also, how it would affect minorities, who are often strongly Democratic regardless, is beyond me.

However, by adding Ryan to the ticket, Mitt Romney also adds a set of credentials that are hard to beat on Capitol Hill. Paul Ryan's understanding of budgets is considered second-to-none among his colleagues. His serious approach to tackling the nation's soon-to-explode deficit due to open-ended entitlement spending, is admirable. Additionally, he adds likability to a ticket where the lead figure comes across as robotic from time to time.

However, most importantly, I believe that choosing Ryan may change the conversation of this election from a slew of lies and innuendos about Mitt Romney to a slew of lies and innuendo about Paul Ryan.

On a serious note, I believe it does shift this election to more of a battle of ideas than men. Congressman Ryan brings a strong, unwavering conservative voice to the debate. The addition of this voice will change the conversation from “Is Mitt Romney an evil businessman who seeks to destroy the middle class?” to “Whose vision for the future of America is superior: Mitt Romney's or Barack Obama's?”

I won't discuss those arguments here, but I will say that I believe that Paul Ryan is ultimately a good choice by Mitt Romney. It is up to the latter to utilize this choice wisely.