early and often Mitt Romney Introduced Paul Ryan in Front of a Battleship for Some Reason
Virginia governor Bob McDonnell was never shy about his desire to be Mitt Romney's running mate, so it was kind of sad, this morning, to see him forced up onstage to give the introduction at Paul Ryan's unveiling. Also, nobody watching or in attendance wanted to hear from Bob McDonnell in the least. The setting was a stage situated directly in front of the U.S.S. Wisconsin, a decommissioned battleship now serving out retirement as a museum in Norfolk, Virginia. Why do this in front of a battleship? Unclear. If there were ever a campaign less focused on war and foreign policy, it is the Romney-Ryan ticket in 2012.
When McDonnell's tragic intro was complete, Romney emerged from the Wisconsin to some patriotic fanfare, which happened to be the soundtrack from Air Force One. Romney spent much of his short speech boasting of Ryan's character, sometimes in comically overwrought language. "Paul also combines firm principles with a practical concern for getting things done," Romney said at one point. "He has never been content to simply curse the darkness; he would rather light candles." I hope you dance, Paul Ryan.
Today represents something of a fresh start for Romney's struggling campaign, and he has every reason to be excited. However, he was perhaps a little too excited for his own good by the time he introduced Ryan. "Join me," Romney announced, "in welcoming the next president of the United States, Paul Ryan!"
The music swelled again, the crowd cheered, and Ryan emerged onstage, joining Romney in a session of smiling and lazy, indiscriminate waving. Romney went to his seat, but upon being informed by Ann of his error, returned to the microphone just as Ryan was set to begin his speech. "Every now and then I’m known to make a mistake,” Romney said, sheepishly. “I did not make a mistake with this guy. But I can tell you this, he’s going to be the next Vice-President of the United States." If it makes him feel any better, Barack Obama, bizarrely, made the same mistake when introducing Joe Biden in 2008.
Not the most auspicious start, but Ryan went on to rile up the crowd with a solidly delivered speech about the need to "make difficult decisions," something Romney has studiously avoided in his campaign so far, but won't be able to now that his candidacy is tied, for better or worse, to the controversial Ryan budget plan.
Yesterday, in front of the  in Norfolk, Virginia, presumptive Republican presidential nominee, former Massachusetts  Mitt Romney selected Congressman  of Wisconsin as his .
Paul Ryan prepares to deliver his acceptance speech after Mitt Romney's introduction.
After an introduction from Virginia  , who himself had been considered a potential running mate, Romney officially made the announcement. He referred to Ryan as "an intellectual leader of the Republican Party" and initially labeled Ryan as the "next president of the United States" before correcting himself after Ryan reached the podium. 

Ryan, 42, has represented  since 1999 and serves as chairman of the . Last year, he authored the budget proposal, '''', which promotes reductions in federal spending of $6.2 trillion from the Obama plan through a repeal of the , a reformation of , and capping of federal . 

During his acceptance speech, Ryan said that his "record of getting things done in Congress will be a very helpful complement to Governor Romney's executive and private sector success outside of Washington." He added that the campaign "won't duck the tough issues—we will lead" and went after the record of President Barack Obama, arguing that his policies "didn't make things better."

On the announcement, senior Obama staffers explained that Ryan's selection "makes clear that Romney would be a rubber stamp for the congressional GOP" and that the choice provides the Obama campaign with "clear advantages".

According to '''', Romney made the decision on August 1 after returning from his international trip. Four days later, Ryan was secretly flown to , Massachusetts to meet Romney at the home of Beth Myers, who was running the vice presidential search. Ryan was supposed to be announced on Friday in New Hampshire, but he had to return to Wisconsin to attend a memorial for victims of the . 

Thereafter, the campaign decided to make the announcement in Virginia, and so Ryan was once again secretly flown, this time to , North Carolina near Norfolk, where he met with Romney and prepared his acceptance speech.

''NBC News'' first announced the decision, and the Romney campaign announced the news to supporters through a phone application at seven a.m., a couple of hours before the official announcement. 


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