>> it's an honor to announce my running mate and the next vice president of the united states, paul ryan! >> now a look at paul ryan. the man. >> jamesville, wisconsin, is where i was born and raised, and i never really left it. >> the lawmaker. >> i have focused on solving the problems that confront our country. >> and his impact on the race for the white house. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." in this special hour, we're taking a close look at the man mitt romney has asked to join him on the republican presidential ticket, paul ryan. fittingly, romney made the announcement in front of the battleship "the uss wisconsin." ryan, chairman of the house budget committee, made a name for himself here in washington by battling deficits and fighting for cuts in government spending. listen to how mitt romney broke the news. >> it's an honor to announce my running mate and the next vice president of the united states, paul ryan! his leadership -- his leadership begins with character and values. paul is a man of tremendous character shaped in large part by his early life. paul's father died when he was in high school. that forced him to grow up earlier than any young man should. but paul did. with the help of his devoted mother, s brothers and sister, and a supportive community. and as he did, he internalized the virtues and hardworking ethic of the midwest. paul ryan works in washington, but his beliefs remain firmly rooted in jamesville, wisconsin. he's a person of great steadiness whose integrity is unquestioned and his word is good. paul's upbringing is obvious in how he's conducted himself throughout his life includi his leadership in washington in a city that's far too often characterized by pettiness and personal attacks, paul ryan is a shining exception. he doesn't demonize his opponents. he understands that honorable people can have honest differences. and he appeals to the better angels of our nature. that a lot of in the other people who might disagree with paul ryan. i don't know of anyone who doesn't respect his character and judgment. >> paul ryan was only 28 years old when he was first elected to the united states congress. he served seven terms, almost 14 years. at 42, he's the same age as the eldest of romney's five sons. ryan's catholic with a wife and three young children. >> i want you to meet my family. that's my wife, jana. our daughter, liza, and our sons charlie and sam. i'm surrounded by the people i love. i love you, too. jamesvle, wisconsin, is where i was born and raised, and i never really left it. it's our home now. for the last 14 years, i have proudly represented wisconsin in congress. there -- there i have focused on solving the problems that confront our country, turning ideas into action, and action into solutions. i am committed in heart and mind to putting that experience to work in a romney administration. my dad died when i was young. he was a good and decent man. there are few things he would say that have just always stuck with me. he'd say, son, you're either part of the problem or part of the solution. well, regrettably, president obama has become part of the problem, and mitt romney is the solution. i represent a part of america that includes inner cities, rural areas, suburbs and factory towns. over the years, i have seen and heard from a lot of families. from a lot of those who are running small businesses. and from people who are in need. but what i've heard lately, that's what troubles me the most. there's something different in their voice, in their words. what i hear from them are diminished dreams, lowered expectations. uncertain futures. i hear some people say that this is just the new normal. higher unemployment, declining incomes, and crushing debt is not a new normal. i've worked closely with republicans as well as democrats. to advance an agenda of economic growth, fiscal discipline, and job creation. >> paul ryan's name was certainly on many people's short lists of vice presidential possibilities. still the choice is somewhat surprising and carries some very definite risks. our chief national correspondent john king is here to assess what's going on. you spent a lot of time studying paul ryan. and you have looked at the pluses he brings to the ticket and some of the minuses. >> it's bold and risky all at once, wolf. the biggest plus is the immediate one you see. romney had a bit of a swagger, he's looser. this is the first oh, yeah, i'm the nominee, the leader of my party. and you could see him a little looser today. the american people are going to decide between romney and obama. but can paul ryan help? here's some of the pluses. you see evidence already. he energizes a republican base that's been somewhat suspicious of romney. you can see it already. people saying this is a big ideas guy. we want him there. he's an energetic debater and campaigner. 42, you mentioned that. you could see it today. he adds youthful vigor to the base. but there are some downsides. he has never run, meaning he's never won, statewide. so can he help mitt romney? can he put wisconsin in the republican column? that's a big question mark. the candidates will be together. their first event in the milwaukee suburbs. that's the key test there. zero foreign policy experience. people are saying governor romney's also weak there. the democrats will make that an issue. and on the one hand, 42 is youthful vigor. on the other hand, some will say is a 42-year-old house member ready to become commander in chief? >> policy experience and most of his experience has been within washington and government or in think tanks, legislative aid. he doesn't bring, for example, the experience in the private sector that mitt romney would bring to the ticket. >> right. and so you'll have the one hand as paul ryan said today, there's a great combination. here's a guy from the outside. he was a governor, chief executive, a businessman. he doesn't have washington experience. i'm a guy who can help him navigate the nooks and crannies of the bureaucracy. governor romney is right when he says democrats respect ryan. they do respect him. as someone who comes to the table with ideas, not just with rhetoric and partisanship. >> yeah, he's a likeable kind of guy. that's what you hear as well. today i spent part of the day going through a lot of the interviews i've done with him over the past few years. i want to play this little clip and then i want to talk about it with you. it's about taxes, which is a very, very sensitive issue. >> not only are we open to tax reform as you describe it, it's in our budget. what we propose in our budget that passed the house is get rid of these loopholes in exchange for lowered rates. and what we want to do is get rid of these loopholes. all of these loopholes in exchange for lowering everybody's and every business's tax rates to make us more globally competitive. >> he doesn't like the fact, for example, that a company like ge pays no taxes for whatever reason. he wants to do away with those kinds of loopholes, different tax rates for u.p.s. as opposed to dhl. he goes into some specific details. is that orthodoxy as far as that conservative base which some of whom see any reduction in those loopholes as an affect the tax hike. >> it's becoming orthodoxy as far as simpler and fairer. even governor romney who's been criticized, aha, is he hiding some of his money overseas says let's get rid of those. however, some republicans draw the line they won't take that reform if in the end it brings more revenue to washington. what ryan said is i'm not going to consider that. he says it's critical to "a," to make it simpler for middle-class families, but he'll be very honest. he says the main goal is for businesses. you take away those stacks of the tax code, you get rid of all the loopholes, he thinks more money goes into the economic, economic growth, more of a reagan/kemp supply side. >> he said to me in these interviews he wants to work with democrats. he wants to find compromise. that hasn't happened lately, but maybe it will happen down the road. >> with these issues front and center, maybe whoever wins might have a mandate to govern. maybe. >> we'll see. john, thanks very, very much. we're only just beginning our special hour here in "the situation room." we have inside information into how mitt romney picked paul ryan. stay with us for a window into his decision-making process. 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>> well, that's something i've learned working with him as chief of staff in the governor's office for four years. there is a way, because he's very methodical in making his decisions. and what he wants is a couple things. first of all, he wants all the information. and we went about a very thorough process in making sure we had a lot of information about a broad group. he also doesn't like to rule anything out until he has to. you know, the first swath was brought. we got a good cut of information about a lot of people. he then narrowed it down. and we got even more information. we got personal information from each of the potential candidates. and at that point, again, we had some attorneys look through and go through everybody's record to make sure that there was, you know, i didn't want to miss anything about them. and then mitt took these candidate dossiers, and he thought about them. he read all of them word for word. i had talked with each of the candidates personally. he had obviously been campaigning with a lot of the folks that he was considering. and he read the dossiers. and we narrowed it down once again. and we did, you know, an even more deep dive on them. and then gave them the final product. he's thinking about it now. >> does he solicit your advice? >> he solicits the advice of a small group of his advisers. but then he asks, i think, everybody he meets. you know, what's your thought on this? >> and he listens? >> he listens. i mean, he asks -- you know, sort of people you wouldn't think that he'd ask about it. he talks to, you know, he calls friends from all walks of his life, all across the country, wanting to mow what thknow what. he listens to that. but he haven't told him -- i have not shared with him my opinion because i think it's important that i'm the object e objective -- >> so it's his comfort level with someone. >> yeah. >> and his feeling that person's qualified to be -- >> yeah. >> -- president. >> yes. absolutely. i mean, obviously, his first qualification is that the person is qualified to be president. and perceived to be qualified. >> gloria is here with me in "the situation room." good interview. i'm glad you did that. let's talk a little about what this says about mitt romney, what it says about paul ryan, the impact of all of this on the campaign. >> first of all, i think as beth myers says, it shows you that mitt romney is somebody who likes to look at all the data when he's making a decision, and the way she describes it it as someone who's very methodical. i also think he had to be personally comfortable with the person he was going to put on the ticket. but aside from that, wolf, i think it tells us something about where this campaign is headed. i think they took a look at the campaign, and they said, gee. we cannot run just against president obama's economy where they would have been up five or seven points by now. instead they're not. it's been either flat, or they've been down. so they said, look. we need to focus this campaign. and what they've done by putting paul ryon on the ticket -- and this is not without some risk -- is they focus this campaign and said, look, this is about the future, the economic future of this country. they want to talk about spending. they want to talk about tax cuts. they want to talk about deficits. and use that as a way to talk about the economy and where they would take it. >> looks like they've got a good, good relationship. >> yeah. >> it looks like they've energized this campaign. we'll see what happens, gloria. >> this is day one, right? >> we'll see what happens day two, tomorrow. thanks very much. paul ryan's midwestern roots, how his wisconsin hometown shaped his political belie beliefs. that and a lot more straight ahead. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 there are atm fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 account service fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and the most dreaded fees of all, hidden fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, you won't pay fees on top of fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no monthly account service fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no hidden fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and we rebate every atm fee. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 so talk to chuck tdd# 1-800-345-2550 because when it comes to talking, there is no fee. ♪ this is the sound... you feel that? no. the eassist is working. right now. that's spandau ballet, man. you did this all the way to the restaurant. yeah. we were going up a hill. getting extra horsepower. from a battery-powered generator. ♪ ah, ah ah, ah, ah ♪ it's helping us conserve fuel. this is important. [ male announcer ] the all-new, 37 mpg chevy malibu eco. from new technology to old friends. chevy runs deep. want my recipe for healthier hair color? natural instincts! formulated with aloe, vitamin and antioxidants natural instincts has a system that's a healthier way to radiant color. indulge... with natural instincts. less guilt, more gorgeous. consider the journey of today's athletes. their training depends on technology. and when it takes a battery, there are athletes everywhere who trust duracell. they rely on copper to go for the gold. duracell. trusted everywhere. and soon...even more reason to trust duracell. duralock power preserve. it locks in power for up to 10 years in storage. guaranteed. duralock. coming soon to every duracell battery. when mitt romney first introduced his new running mate, he said paul ryan's beliefs remain firmly rooted in his hometown of janesville, wisconsin. that's where our athina jones is now. what are you finding out? >> reporter: hi, wolf. here we are outside of paul ryan's house. we spent the whole day talking to people all across town. and as you might imagine, wolf, people here are of two minds of congressman ryan and what it will mean for the republican ticket. folks here in paul ryan's hometown of janesville, wisconsin, are reacting to the big news. >> i think he's an excellent candidate. >> i personally don't like what he stands for. >> reporter: the seven-term congressman who comes from a prominent local family is well known in this town southwest of milwaukee. he attended school here, is a parishioner of the catholic church and his brik home on a quiet street sits near the home of extended family. neighbors describe him as down-to-earth. >> we've spoken to him in the neighborhood. we're friendly that way. just a downhome kind of guy. he's in the labor day parade with his kids and his daughter was selling lemonade. >> reporter: at a water ski tournament on the river, voters celebrated what they called ryan's vision and expressed hope that he will help the gop win this traditionally blue state. >> i think that he's got the country -- wants to get the country going where it needs to be going. budgetwise. and the economy. and but it also makes you feel good as a wisconsinite. so i hope that helps some of the other people who are on the fence or whichever to lean on over. >> reporter: while at the farmers' market just down the street from his office, voters applauded romney's choice for different reasons. >> i was very excited and inspired. >> reporter: why? >> just because paul has a great vision for america, and i think he's the right choice. >> reporter: some democrats say the pick many conservatives are hailing as bold and outstanding because of ryan's commitment to deep budget cuts will end up boosting the democratic ticket. >> i'm totally elated. >> reporter: why is that? >> because it's going to be easier for the democrats now. i think they can attack two guys, two birds with one stone, and there are fiscal restrain, read the records. they stand for the 1%. and they're going to gut all the programs for the poor. >> reporter: both detractors and supporters have good things to say about ryan. >> he sticks to his beliefs. and he's a big advocate for the district. i think he's a hardworking person. >> i think he's a man of integrity. >> reporter: but one thing voters we spoke with from both parties seemed a bit unsure of is whether the 42-year-old is ready to be president. >> i think he's not old enough yet to know what he's doing. >> reporter: do you think that paul ryan, he's 42, do you think he's ready to be president? >> i don't know yet. i mean, that's kind of young. >> reporter: now, as you know, wolf, i don't have to tell you that wisconsin has been a reryably blue state for years. ronald reagan was the last candidate to win it in '84. it's been a mixed bag. president obama won this county with 64% of the vote in 2008. of course, paul ryan has been elected seven times. so while there are plenty of democrats around here, there are also plenty of republicans. it will be interesting to see how the state goes in november. wolf? >> we'll see if paul ryan can turn things around in wisconsin for the republicans. athena jones, thanks very, very much. mitt romney's former republican presidential rival newt gingrich is standing by with his take on paul ryan. that's next. 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