Dan Mitchell points out that the vice presidential selection rarely matters in elections. He also gives some of the positives and negatives of Paul Ryan from a libertarian perspective:
> *Here are the reasons why I’m happy.*
> I think Ryan genuinely believes in small government, low tax rates, and free markets. Heck, he’s even read Ayn Rand, and is willing to admit that he likes her writings.
> …
> He understands that not all entitlement reform is created equal. Instead of supporting means-testing (which produces implicit higher marginal tax rates) and unsustainable price controls, Ryan got his colleagues to support Medicaid block grants and premium support (or vouchers) for Medicare.
> …
> *Here are … reasons why I’m worried.*
> Both Romney and Ryan are somewhat sympathetic to a value-added tax. My worst-case scenario is they win the election, but then can’t get a good budget approved because of some squishy Republican senators who put self interest above national interest. Romney and Ryan then decide that this European-style national sales tax is the only way – on paper – of making the budget balance. In reality, of course, we’ll suffer the same fate as Europe since the VAT revenues will be used to finance ever-larger government.
That is just a sampling, but I think Congressman Ryan’s positives far outweigh his negatives.