[NC_Skins]

GOP pros fret over Paul Ryan - Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Martin - POLITICO.com

Away from the cameras, and with all the usual assurances that people aren’t being quoted by name, there is an unmistakable consensus among Republican operatives in Washington: Romney has taken a risk with Ryan that has only a modest chance of going right — and a huge chance of going horribly wrong.

In more than three dozen interviews with Republican strategists and campaign operatives — old hands and rising next-generation conservatives alike — the most common reactions to Ryan ranged from gnawing apprehension to hair-on-fire anger that Romney has practically ceded the election.

I'm quite positive somebody up here said that Romney conceded the election by making this selection so grats to whoever that was.

Note: I am not saying that Romney will in fact lose. I don't know and will not be making bets, but I strongly feel that he'll lose now with the fact that Ryan and his budget are aboard.