Yes. PHEW.

After a week marred by a not-ready-for-prime-time staffer who had movement conservatives questioning Team Romney’s competence, sanity, and willingness to fight the brass-knuckles White House and Chicago thug operatives, the Romney campaign made the right decision.

And the Right decision.

Fittingly, the motto of the USS Wisconsin on which Romney/Ryan made their announcement is “Forward for Freedom.”

Paul Ryan is fresh, young, energetic, smart, courageous, and ready for prime time.

Paul Ryan is a policy wonk AND a front-line warrior whose budget and long-term entitlement reforms have the entire Dem-Soros-lapdog media machine unhinged.

Paul Ryan is ready to fight false media narratives.

Paul Ryan is battle-tested against the White House.

Paul Ryan won’t cut and run when the going gets tough.

The Dems and their media water-carriers are invoking the the NY-26 loss as evidence that Ryan is a drain on GOP electoral prospects. They’ve misread those results completely and the Dems’ blind hubris and demagoguing overreach will be their downfall. Reminder:

I’ve had my doubts about GOP Rep. Paul Ryan’s commitment to fiscal conservatism in the past, but his mettle is being tested and this is his moment.

Beltway Republicans are going wobbly in the wake of the GOP’s NY-26 loss — seen as a referendum on the Ryan Medicare overhaul plan.

William Jacobson at Legal Insurrection draws bottom-line lessons from the NY race:

There were so many quirks about this race that it’s hard to draw simple conclusions, but I think the following apply (in no particular order):

* A third party candidate can make a difference, and in this case Davis certainly drew more away from Corwin than Hochul.

* The Tea Party brand is powerful. A phony like Davis, who petitioned his way onto the ballot and then chose to call his ballot line the “Tea Party” line still managed to draw a significant vote.

* National Republicans need to get their act together. This is not a district which should have been ignored for so long. The challenge from Davis was noted by me and others in early April.

* The ability of Democrats to scare grandma should not be underestimated. Republicans need to be very proactive and very hard hitting is getting ahead of Democrats and explaining not only that no one currently receiving Medicare will be affected, but that the current system will result in severe rationing if changes are not made.

…

* In the face of the Democratic scare grandma machine, nice guys and gals will finish last.

…

* The MSM will message for Democrats all day long. Already last night the NY Times rand a banner “Rubuke Seen To Medicare Plan.”

…

For his part, Ryan is not running from the fundamental battle over entitlements and free-market reform. While Democrats shriek and moan about seniors rolling off cliffs, Ryan’s out with a sober, serious, adult conversation on the long-term structural changes needed to keep the system solvent:

Tea Party activists need to stand by Ryan and buck him up when the GOP establishment cuts and runs. Fiscal conservatism must not be beholden to electoral cycles. This is what real leadership looks like.

All that said: A strong movement conservative in the VP slot is a necessary, but not sufficient, ingredient for a winning ticket that provides a clear contrast to the backward, profligate, big government Democratic duo in the White House.

Paul Ryan helps to Right the listing Romney ship.

It’s a great relief.

Now, all together: FIGHT!

***

Watch the video. The contrast couldn’t be clearer:

GOP: We have a plan to solve the massive unfunded liabilities crisis and restore fiscal responsibility in Washington.

Democrats: “”We don’t have a definitive solution…We just don’t like yours.”

***

Best line of Ryan’s speech this morning?

“We will not replace our founding principles, we will reapply them.”

Right. On.

***

Here come the big-spending Big Labor goons to decry “fat cats.” Snort:

National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel released the following statement reacting to Gov. Mitt Romney’s selection of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) as his Vice Presidential running mate.

ORDER IT NOW

“For weeks, there’s been speculation about who Gov. Romney would choose to be his running mate and what it would mean. And now we have our answer. By selecting Ryan, Romney has doubled down on his view that opportunity is only for those who can afford it or are willing to game the system. He’s shown yet again that he is more willing to help the rich get richer than ensuring middle class families get ahead.

“Ryan’s position on fundamental education issues like funding for early childhood education and efforts to keep class sizes small don’t speak to ensuring that every child in this country gets a quality education, it continues Romney’s misguided and out of touch mentality that class size doesn’t matter and children should get as much education as they can ‘afford’. Elections are about choices, and Governor Romney’s VP selection indicates that once again he chose the corporate fat cats and Wall Street barons over students, teachers, bus drivers, nurses and secretaries. The three million members of NEA know you can’t put Americans back to work by cutting jobs, educate our kids by laying off teachers, or level the playing field for small businesses by rigging it in favor of big corporations.

“Ryan was the architect of the budget plan that would have gutted Medicare and converted it to a voucher program. Ryan and Romney have shown over and over again that they are more willing to run up trillion dollar deficits to help the rich get richer while undercutting opportunity for middle class families.

“These are the positions and policies of Governor Romney. And so NEA members know enough to know that a Romney-Ryan administration is bad for our students, families and the wrong direction for America.”