With all signs pointing to Mitt Romney selecting Paul Ryan as his VP running mate tomorrow in Norfolk, VA, Romney went bold. And here is First Read's looks at the strengths and weaknesses Ryan would bring the GOP presidential ticket.

Strengths:

As chairman of the House Budget Committee, the 42-year-old Ryan is a young rising star in the GOP, and has become their chief spokesman when it comes to reducing the deficit and debt.

Romney picking Ryan as his running mate would signal that he’s doubling down on an austerity/deficit-reduction message. Indeed, while the Obama campaign and Democrats could point to visible improvements with the economy over the past three years (a lower unemployment rate, stronger GDP growth), there hasn’t been much progress in reducing the deficit. The deficit was $1.4 trillion in FY ’09; $1.3 trillion in ’10; $1.5 trillion in ’11 (projected); and $1.1 trillion in ’12 (projected).

Ryan hails from a battleground state -- Wisconsin -- where polls show Romney currently trailing Obama. Obama actually won Ryan’s district in 2008, 51%-47%.

Comfort level: When Romney campaigned with Ryan in the lead-up to the April 3 Wisconsin primary, the two men demonstrated a rapport that we haven’t seen with other Romney surrogates.

He would be a person who could please both the conservative intelligentsia and the Tea Party base.

Weaknesses: