This article which appeared on Bloomberg and written by Jonathan Alter contains some interesting perspectives from the Obama campaign about the Ryan pick. Alter quoted David Axelrod but appears to have spoken with other campaign officials.
The general view is that Team Obama is guarding against overconfidence and believes the race will be 'close' but they believe that the Ryan pick was another example of Romney sacrificing his long-term prospects to maintain short-term viability, which is what Romney did to survive the primaries against Perry and Santorum. They thought he would pick Pawlenty. Axelrod thought Romney would avoid Portman because of his ties to the Bush Administration.
http://www.bloomberg.com/...
http://www.bloomberg.com/...
They were very encouraged that local media headlines that drew quick and critical attention to Ryan's medicare cuts. Though the article does not elaborate specifically as to why, it would seem that that initial skepticism would make it harder for the GOP to sell their idea or to avoid talking about it.
They also believe that the Ryan pick may put the House back in play this year and that is reflected by the DCCC's new ad campaigns.
They are also not too worried about the President's personal ratings taking a hit due to the nasty nature of the campaign. Democrats have been waiting for Obama to take shots for 4 years and indies have a firm impression of Obama that won't be changed by ads (or Romney bloviations).
My own take: It has been almost 1 week since the pick and the GOP trackers show a minor bounce that has essentially dissipated (Ras' poll today only shows a 1 point Romney lead, which has been their standard for awhile. They are stubborn to say the least). Ryan violates the 'do no harm' rule for VP selection. He will likely hurt Romney with key voter groups and may make it easier for Obama to get unlikely voters to cast a ballot.
The only way Ryan helps Romney is if he makes Wisconsin a dog fight. Instead of 8 battlegrounds, there would be 9. If Romney were to win in Wisconsin it would make our job of getting to 270 more difficult. We would likely have to win in FL or OH to get to 270. That would essentially make the election like 2004 and we would either play the role of Bush or that of Kerry.
When the conventions are done, I think we will see an Obama national lead of 3-6 points with leads of similar margins in 8 of 9 battlegrounds.