Introducing the Committee to End Medicare: Romney-Ryan 2012

Mitt Romney picks Paul Ryan ... and waves goodbye to the election. Huffington Post and NBC News are reporting that Mitt Romney will name Paul Ryan when he announces his vice presidential candidate tomorrow morning in Norfolk, Virginia. Although their reports aren't as definitive, Politico and The Weekly Standard all say that Ryan appears to be Romney's pick.

So I guess that means Mitt Romney has finally figured out a way to deflect attention from his secret tax returns, for at least a day or two, anyhow. On the other hand, the thing everyone is going to be talking about instead is the fact that he just picked as his running mate the architect of the GOP's plan to end Medicare as we know it. In other words, Mitt Romney is still the gift that keeps on giving.

Fri Aug 10, 2012 at 9:30 PM PT (kos): This pick tells us several things. One, Romney considers it terrible news since he's delivering the news in a late Friday Night News Dump. And two, he's more concerned with winning his base than he is in winning in November.

Only question left is, when will Ryan release his tax returns?

Fri Aug 10, 2012 at 9:33 PM PT: ABC's Jon Karl:

Who it is not: Portman, Pawlenty and Rubio. All told they are not the pick.
— @jonkarl via Twitterrific It's always possible that the above reports are wrong and that it's not actually Paul Ryan. If so, if it's not Ryan, then Karl's tweet would seem to mean that it would be Bobby Jindal, Chris Christie, or Bob McDonnell.

Fri Aug 10, 2012 at 9:36 PM PT (kos): NBC reports that Tag Romney called up the losers to tell them they weren't it. Because Mitt is a dick.

The conversation probably went something like this:

"Hi, it's Tagg. You're not it."
— @BoloBoffin

Fri Aug 10, 2012 at 9:37 PM PT: Obama picked Biden on a Saturday too, but there was a difference: Obama made his pick 2 days before the beginning of the Democratic Convention. Romney is making his choice 9 days before the GOP convention and gave very little advance notice. It seems as though he's downplaying the pick, as kos said.

Fri Aug 10, 2012 at 9:40 PM PT (kos): Everyone is fired up tonight! Conservatives, because they showed Romney who was boss, and liberals because, you know, we're going to win.

Fri Aug 10, 2012 at 9:43 PM PT (kos): Dem operative: "We've spent 18 months trying to make House races about their plan for Medicare and Mitt Romney just did it for us overnight"
— @mpoindc via Twitter for Android

Fri Aug 10, 2012 at 9:48 PM PT (kos): Who is going to break it to the conservatives that Romney is still on the ticket?