Why the "Ryan Pick" is Important

The "Overflow" Crowd

Sunday's RomneyRyan2012 event in Mooresville showed very clearly why picking Paul Ryan (or somebody like him) was very much needed by the Romney campaign.  Thousands showed up and many of those would not have been there (myself included) if Romney had followed conventional wisdom and played it "safe".  The selection rejuvinated the race for the Presidency.  That in itself is important for a Romney campaign that can't seem to pull away from President Obama in any meaningful way - even with a lagging economy and unemployment stuck at stubbornly high rates.

People Streaming In

Why is that?  Why couldn't the Romney camp generate a critical mass of enthusiasm and start pulling away before now?

One of the people standing next to me at today's rally nailed it.  The gentleman said, "up until yesterday I wasn't quite sure Romney gets it.  By picking Paul Ryan, now I know he gets it."  Apparently he was not alone in that feeling.



Just Before Planned Start Time

An unconfirmed source told me that the RSVPs for today's rally went through the roof after yesterday's VP announcement.  That was supported by the anecdotal evidence I heard today from several people who said they were there because of Ryan, and as was reported in the Statesville Record & Landmark a reporter covering the Romney camp for USA Today said this was the largest Romney rally she had seen.

The campaign needed something to get the more libertarian minded Republicans fully engaged.  Specifically, I'm talking about the Ron Paul supporters.  As you can see from the picture below, they were there, and they are paying attention.  I also had the opportunity to run into some Paul supporters this afternoon - well after the rally and completely at random.  They were withholding judgement until they hear what Ron Paul himself says about the selection.

Regardless, selecting Paul Ryan helps make this election much more a battle between two very distinct visions for this country.  Those distinct visions provide voters with a real choice this election cycle - more so than any since 1980 at the very least.  And that's why this selection was truly important.

Seen on the way out...