Youthful Paul Ryan’s Election Entry Draw Praise and Scorn as Presidential Campaigns Fight For Lead

How Paul Ryan pick by Romney can alter campaign

The Christian Science Monitor | Democracy, elections and voting at Democracy Chronicles

For Americans who vote Nov. 6, the selection of Rep. Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney’s GOP running mate will probably do little to sway them on the top campaign issue: jobs. Mr. Ryan’s expertise is the federal budget, not the economy. And vice-presidential nominees rarely influence an election.

Mitt Romney sought to maintain his momentum in front of smaller crowds Monday, celebrating US victories in the Olympics and the space race after a weekend of super-sized events. Romney had unveiled Paul Ryan, a deficit hawk congressman, as his vice-presidential pick on Saturday and campaigned. President Barack Obama took aim at his Republican rival’s newly-announced running mate Monday, accusing Paul Ryan of blocking a farm bill during a swing through drought-stricken Iowa. Obama launched a three-day campaign bus tour of Iowa, a key swing state that nurtured his White House dream four years.