It’s official: Wisconsin’s Paul Ryan will be Mitt Romney’s running mate, national news media reported as the news exploded throughout the internet and on cable television late Friday and early Saturday. Georgia Rep. Brett Harrell (R-Snellville) announced in on Loganville-Grayson Patch just before midnight on Saturday and it was confirmed by Romney's App just after 7 a.m.
National news sites broke the news just before midnight on Friday night, ending weeks of speculation.
Shortly before midnight, CNN was reporting that three sources had confirmed that the Janesville congressman, 42, was the VP pick of the Republican Romney. News that Romney’s campaign was announcing its VP selection on Saturday in Virginia broke widely late Friday.
Romney is to make the announcement early Saturday morning in Virginia, kicking off a four-state tour in his bid to unseat incumbent Barack Obama.
The Huffington Post summed it up with one big red headline that trumpeted that the pick was “RYAN”. Even before 1 a.m., the story had generated more than 9,000 comments. By 2 a.m. Saturday, the website romneyryan.com, paid for and authorized by Romney for president, was already up and active and NBC and other news sites were also reporting the pick was Ryan.
Brookfield-WI Patch reported that Ryan attended the Sikh visitation services in Oak Creek, Wis., earlier Friday, viewing the bodies of the deceased with Mitt Romney’s son, Tagg. Tagg Romney tweeted about accompanying Ryan to the visitation later Friday. Tagg Romney wrote on Twitter Friday: “In Milwaukee today along w #RepPaulRyanand #GovWalker to represent my family and offer condolences to the Sikh community.”
The Washington Post already had a graphic on its site entitled, '5 things you didn’t know about Paul Ryan' by early Saturday. They included, “Ryan is from Janesville, Wis., where in 1884 his great-grandfather started a family construction firm, which is still run by his cousins today.” Another factoid: Ryan drove the Oscar Mayer weinermobile in college. Ryan’s first political job was with Jack Kemp in 1991 at a conservative organization.
By midnight, national cable news media was reporting the Ryan choice as a fact, and soon local news media was too. Ryan’s facebook page bio says he is a fifth generation resident of Janesville. He is chairman of the House Budget Committee. He is married to Janna; the couple has three children. Pundits on cable news debated the Ryan pick, including Ryan's controversial proposals on Medicare.
What do you think of Romney's Pick? Do you think Ryan is the best pick for Romney if he wants to be elected in November?
(Editor's Note: Parts of this story appeared initially on Brookfield-WI Patch)
