There is no second place, no living in denial...

So Mitt Romney picked Paul Ryan as his running mate.  My thoughts?

I think it shows he knew he's in trouble with his base.  I think, much like McCain, he felt he needed a VP that fired up the base.  And Ryan will certainly do that.  But I don't think many of the remaining undecided independents will be thrilled with him.  Then again, how many people truly ARE undecided anymore?

I think the Ryan pick makes it much harder for Romney to get Florida.  With all the retirees there, and Ryan's budget plan including the idea of getting rid of Medicare and putting in place a voucher system, I just don't see how Ryan's gonna help get any senior votes in Florida.

I think Ryan was a risky choice for Romney.  Since Ryan's only ever been elected by one Congressional District in Wisconsin, made up of roughly 700,000 people, he's never even been elected statewide.  I'm not at all convinced Ryan even helps Romney pick up his own state.

Romney can't win the election without Florida, Ohio and Virginia (Obama can win without all three), so picking someone from one of those three states might have helped him better.  But Rubio in Florida might alienate the Mexican Americans in the Southwest states.  Portman might have helped him in Ohio, but since he was W's budget director, he'd have tied Romney to W's even more than he's already gonna be.  And McDonnell might have helped him in Virginia, but since Romney wouldn't have wanted "vaginal ultrasound" attached to his campaign at every stop.

I don't think Ryan's a horrible pick, but I don't think he's the best pick.  Course, I don't know if Romney had a better one.  I don't think any of his pick possiblitues were sure-fire homeruns.

Being an obvious non-Romney supporter, my ultimate opinion is that, in the end, Ryan's going to hurt Team Romney more than he helps them.  Or at best, since he is an intelligent person (unlike the last Republican VP pick) he's going to at least be able to name a newspaper he reads, and he'll not be a laughingstock.

But in the end, despite what will assuredly be a bounce in the polls for Romney in the days following the announcement, I dont think this selection changes anything, not even Wisconsin.  My current electoral tally is the same as it was before the Ryan pick: Obama 319.  Romney 219. (or if Romney somehow gets Florida, Obama 290, Romney 248)

POLT