Paul Ryan for VP? Romney should think about it

The buzz around the political blogosphere today is that Rep. Paul Ryan's stock is rising in Washington and across the country -- and the Romney camp would do well to notice.

In delivering introductory remarks at a Romney campaign event yesterday in Wisconsin, Ryan's speech fanned the flames of speculation as he challenged President Obama and his "broken promises":

"I seem to remember him saying that he was going to be a uniter, not a divider," Ryan told the crowd of Romney supporters. "Frankly this is one and the worst of his broken promises. We do not need a campaigner-in-chief, we need a commander-in-chief; we need a leader that America deserves."

"The presidency is bigger than this. He was supposed to be bigger than this," he continued. "We need solutions, not excuses. We need a president who takes the lead in not one that spreads the blame. We need someone who appeals to our dreams and aspirations, not to our fears and anxieties. We as Americans deserved to choose what kind of country we want and what kind of people we want to be."

Sounds like national campaign fodder to me...

The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza also took note:

It’s not hard to imagine this thought in Romney headquarters this morning: You want to make the Ryan plan the centerpiece of this campaign? Fine. Game on. That’s a fight we want.

If you believe — and you should — that the dominant issue of this campaign is over which party has the best plan to put the country on sound financial footing then there’s no better way for Romney to drive a contrast with Obama than to put the face of the conservative approach to budgeting on the national ticket. (It doesn’t hurt that Ryan is telegenic, beloved by tea party conservatives and from a swing state like Wisconsin.)

Obviously we are still very early in the veepstakes. And, speculation about Ryan — or anyone else — is just that: speculation. But, it’s clear that Ryan’s stock has soared in recent days. And he’s got President Obama to thank for it.