16 days before the Republican National Convention takes place, Mitt Romney now has a partner.
Saturday morning Romney named Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan to be his vice-presidential nominee, delighting many of the party's intelligentsia who was advocating for his selection, largely based on his famed budget proposals that the House Republicans voted on a party over the past two years.
That proposal includes privatizing Social Security, turning Medicare into a voucher program, making Medicaid a bloc-granting program, and severely reduce domestic spending (actually Romney welcomed Ryan as the next "President of the United States…." after being alerted to his faux pas, Romney interrupted Ryan to correct himself, saying he occasionally makes mistakes).
"We offer solutions that are bold, specific and achievable," Romney said in introducing Ryan, alluding to the Ryan budget. A moment later he said though that he would protect Social Security and Medicare."
The announcement came in Norfolk, Virginia, on a platform next to aboard the USS Wisconsin battleship, where the new team was set to go on a swing state bus tour that includes stops in Florida (but not Tampa Bay) on Monday.
This article appears in Aug 9-15, 2012.