Juan Pablo Rivera Garza
Blogs Editor

Vice presidential candidates serve as a supplement for the presidential candidates they run with. Usually, they are chosen for one of three reasons: to balance the ticket geographically, to boost partisan confidence in the presidential candidate, or to cover an area where the presidential candidate does not have enough expertise or experience in. The choices of the two vice-presidential candidates this election season, Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan, are no accident. Vice President Biden helped then-Senator Obama win the 2008 election by covering the relative inexperience of the young Illinois Senator (especially in terms of foreign policy) with a long career in the Senate, including five years as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He also has proved a great campaigner in blue-collar states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Iowa. On the other hand, Congressman Ryan has provided a great level of excitement among Conservative Republicans, a group that too often has felt distant from Governor Romney. His work as the Republican Budget point-man has helped to shape the election’s focus to issues like Medicare, the deficit, and the role of Government. Another detail of note is that this election marks the first time there are two Roman-Catholic vice presidential candidates. Even with their shared faiths, the two visions these respective gentlemen have for the country are wildly different than each other, setting up a very interesting debate.