Romney Ryan 2012

On August 11th, GOP candidate Mitt Romney announced his running mate for the 2012 presidential election: Paul Ryan, the House Budget Chairman. Like John McCain in 2008, Romney wanted a running mate that would be a game changer. McCain chose Sarah Palin, Romney went with Ryan. Others considered for Romney's running mate were Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor, and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.

As reported by CNN's Paul Steinhauser, 39% of the American public sees Ryan as an excellent or very good choice. In comparison, 46% of the public said that Palin was an excellent or good choice, and 47% of the public said that Joe Biden was an excellent or good choice. Fortunately for Ryan, his approval ratings jumped by 15 points to 38%. In relation to Mitt Romney however, the results are mixed. 17% of voters said that they would be more likely to vote for Romney now that Ryan is his running mate, but 12% said that they were now less likely to vote for the former Massachusetts governor.

One interesting stat, also reported by Steinhauser, is that knowledge of the Congressman has increased. Prior to Romney's announcement, 45% of Americans expressed no opinion of Ryan. That number has since dropped to 30%.

For many Americans, the addition of Paul Ryan to the GOP ticket has made the race more intriguing. His budget plan earned him the fourth-ranked spot as Time magazine's Person of the Year. However, that same budget plan is what is making many Americans hesitant about voting for Romney. As reported by Matthew O' Brien of The Atlantic, Romney would pay 0.82% taxes under Ryan's plan. This has been called by many as Romney's path to prosperity. Ryan's tax plan features eliminating the taxes on capital gains, interests, and dividends, raising taxes on the bottom 30% of earners, and eliminating most of the government, save Social Security and defense.

It is clear that the wealthy would benefit from Ryan's budget plan, and if Romney does get elected, that plan could very well be implemented. Derek Thomson, also from The Atlantic, wrote that Ryan's plan would hurt the average American even more. So now the question arises: was adding Ryan to the ticket the death knell for Romney's presidential run?

Please comment on whether or not you think adding Ryan to the GOP ticket was a good idea.