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Romney picks Paul Ryan as VP running mate

ReutersRepublican U.S. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney (left) introduces U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, as his vice-presidential running mate Saturday during a campaign event at the retired battleship U.S.S. Wisconsin in Norfolk, Via

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Saturday named Rep. Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate, risking that the presidential election could be a referendum on entitlement reform and not a languishing economy.

Appearing with the backdrop of the U.S.S. Wisconsin in Norfolk, Va., Romney received big cheers when announcing the 42-year-old as running mate, saying the pair would pursue goals that are "bold, specific and achievable" and turned the inevitable attacks on Ryan's positions on its head, saying that President Barack Obama is putting Medicare and Social Security at risk.

So swept up, Romney accidentally introduced Ryan as the "next president of the United States."

"Every now and then I make a mistake," Romney quickly added. "I didn't make a mistake with this guy. He's going to be the next vice president of the United States."

Ryan called Romney "the man for this moment" and didn't back down from his focus on spending.

"It is our duty to save the American dream for our children and theirs," Ryan said.

The seven-term congressman from Janesville, Wis., beat out candidates including former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, current Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to the number-two slot.

As chairman of the House Budget Committee, Ryan wrote a budget that President Barack Obama has already aggressively attacked, for the depth of spending cuts and in particular for his plan to reform the popular entitlement program Medicare.

Obama campaign chief Jim Messina was quick to make that attack on Ryan. "With Mitt Romney's support, Ryan would end Medicare as we know it and slash the investments we need to keep our economy growing -- all while cutting taxes for those at the very top," he said in an emailed message.

In picking Ryan over choices like Pawlenty or Portman, Romney is going for a fiscal conservative popular with congressional Republicans with a reputation for seriousness.

In a recent interview with MarketWatch before the selection, former Missouri Republican Sen. John Danforth spoke highly of Ryan. "I'm immensely impressed with Ryan's ability to articulate a position and to do it in a very winning way, I think a very attractive way," he said. Read Danforth interview.

The drawback is Ryan's ties to entitlement reform, particularly in Florida, an important swing state with a big elderly population.

The risk of Ryan's background is that his selection may shift the debate away from an evaluation of Obama's economic performance, where unemployment has stayed above 8% for 42 straight months.

Romney is trailing, though not massively, in several polls. The RealClearPolitics average of polls has Obama with a 4-point advantage.

The Obama campaign has run a blitz of ads in the summer questioning the jobs impact of Romney's time running the private-equity firm Bain Capital as well as the presidential candidate's use of overseas tax shelters.

Ryan, like Vice President Joe Biden, is Catholic, meaning that of the four top officials on the ticket, only Obama is a Protestant, the most popular religion in America. Romney has largely refrained from talking about his Mormon faith on the campaign trail.

Before becoming a congressman, Ryan was an aide to three Republicans, including a failed vice-presidential candidate, Jack Kemp.