Sarah Palin: Ryan Will Mean 'More Enthusiasm' for Romney From Tea Party, Says McCain Camp Didn't Have Her Back in '08

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Sunday she's excited about Mitt Romney's selection of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate, and predicted that it will invigorate Tea Party voters who were lukewarm about his candidacy.

"I think a lot of, maybe Tea Party patriots have understood, wisely, that they've had no choice -- of course they're going to go with anybody but Obama," Palin said on Fox News. "And now yes, I believe there will be a strengthening, more enthusiasm."

The 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee said a Romney-Ryan ticket "will certainly offer an alternative to the vision that Barack Obama and Joe Biden have for America."

Palin said Obama's philosophy is based on "growing government and taking away personal freedoms" while Romney and Ryan offer a "sound and secure vision for America that understands the free market, it understands what it takes to get the economy roaring back."

"With Paul Ryan, who's known for his conscientious concern for our budget and for getting America out of debt, this makes it tougher for Obama to do his continual distracting and dividing and pivoting off the economy because this ticket represents this campaign is about the economy," she said.

Asked what Ryan and his family have to look forward to in their introduction on the national stage, Palin said he will be scrutinized and vetted, but that "there are a lot of us who will have his back and we will call out the media for their lies, for their distortion as they try to thrash his reputation and his record."

Echoing themes she's raised before, Palin said she felt Sen. John McCain's campaign staff didn't always support and defend her in 2008.

"I felt, Shannon, that when I was thrust into that spotlight, didn't have a whole lot of people in the McCain campaign who had my back and would correct the media because they had a lot of friends in the media and they wanted jobs with the media afterward -- they didn't really defend what I really stood for," she said.

Watch Palin's full appearance below: