paul ryan has a better than average name recognition for someone who has only ever served in the house of representatives on the national level, otherwise i think he carries too much baggage to help romney other than keeping the campaign "on message" since romney can't be bothered to open his mouth without sticking his foot in. this will also bring out more of the radical right, since ryan is one of the tea party superstars. i am not voting for either obama or romney so it doesn't influence my vote either way. i see it as a small positive for romney but not enough of a shocker to throw the election his way. my prediction: obama wins about 5 fewer electoral votes because of ryan on the ticket but still wins handily.