Josh Barro, Columnist

Romney-Ryan: The Bain & Co. Ticket

August 11, 2012 at 3:07 PM UTC

Josh Barro is the lead writer for the Ticker, Bloomberg View's blog on economics, finance and politics. His primary areas of interest include tax and fiscal policy, state and local government, and planning and land use. Previously, Barro was a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and a commercial real estate banker at Wells Fargo. He holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Harvard and lives in Queens, New York.

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

At first glance, Mitt Romney’s choice of Paul Ryan as his running mate pick is baffling. For months, a key component of Romney’s strategy has been policy vagueness -- avoiding specific, attackable proposals and keeping the focus on the unpopular incumbent. Now he has chosen a running mate with his own detailed, and easily attacked, fiscal plan.

I can only conclude that this pick was not primarily about electoral politics. Romney realizes that V.P. picks rarely make or break the election, and he probably believes Ryan would help him be a more effective president.