Give me an R!

This morning, at 8:45 a.m., in a small, dreary town in Virginia, Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney finally announced what nobody was really excited for -- well, except for Republicans who actually like Mitt Romney, but that's a small number at best. He announced his Vice President candidate, his second half of the Republican ticket, his number 2.

Since the beginning of the summer, there has been much speculation as to who this could be, mostly because it was hard thinking of people who would mesh well with Mitt Romney. Moreover, the Republican Party seemed to handle the Veepstakes a little more seriously this time around and allowed for careful and thorough vetting. There was no way that the GOP were going to make another Palin blunder.

Names from different factions of the Republican Party flew around: Tim Pawlenty, Chris Christie, Rob Portman, and even Condoleeza Rice. But, of course, the ultimate decision for Romney and co. was to pick someone with gravitas, with impact, and with candor. Someone who would energize the base, excite the Tea Party, and help Romney defeat President Barack Obama come November.

Apparently, the GOP thought this person was none other than Paul Ryan.

Don't get me wrong, Paul Ryan is an interesting choice. He's 42 -- the same age as Mitt Romney's eldest son. He has a sterling record from the Conservative base (to contextualize this issue, he was elected as "Biggest Brown-Nose" by his high school class in 1988). Most importantly, his budget plan has catapulted Ryan as a major star in the GOP, someone to definitely keep an eye on. Now, Romney's support of the Ryan plan -- which is a complete gutting of Medicare, debilitating the poorest Americans, compounded with the biggest tax cuts for the richest Americans -- is even more salient, since it now becomes the Romney Plan.

If it wasn't already obvious before, Romney's VP choice shows he is not concerned about the very poor.

Below is a short reading list of what you need to know about Paul Ryan, including a notable, longread profile on him in The New Yorker by all-around awesome writer Ryan Lizza.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/08/06/120806fa_fact_lizza?currentPage=all Ryan Lizza's profile on Paul Ryan. This is probably the definitive account of Ryan's career and influence on the GOP out there.

http://nymag.com/news/features/paul-ryan-2012-5/ Another longread in New York Magazine about Paul Ryan and his status as a GOP superstar.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/04/paul-ryan-labor-unions-wisconsin Mother Jones here speculates on whether or not Ryan is a "secret union lover," a claim I wouldn't be totally surprised over, frankly.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/04/paul-ryan-adult-budget Another interesting piece in Mother Jones about Ryan's budget plan and its "reverse-Robin Hood" tactic.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/11/michael-tomasky-on-romney-s-stunning-terrible-choice-of-ryan-for-vp.html An article in the Daily Beast as to why Ryan's selection for VP may be the extra edge for the Obama campaign. I agree with the premise that Ryan's presence on the campaign could seriously inhibit any popularity for Romney considering that the Obama campaign will flesh out his budget proposal as much as humanly possible.

http://prospect.org/article/paul-ryan-obamas-dream-opponent And, another article in The American Prospect explaining all the benefits the Obama campaign can reap from Romney's VP selection.

For now, we'll have to wait and see what Ryan's inclusion into the Presidential fold may mean for both Romney and Obama. Who knows? He may shock everyone and give an impressive and strong debate performance as well as smooth interviews.

But, based on Ryan's and Romney's announcement speech, to which Romney mistakenly referred to Ryan as "the next President," it doesn't seem too likely.