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In August of 2008, John McCain announced that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin would be his vice presidential running mate on the Republican ticket for the election held that November. In August of 2012—just two days ago—Mitt Romney announced that Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan would be his vice presidential running mate on the Republican ticket for the election to be held this November. Some (like John McCain) may deny similarities between the two veep picks, but the Internet feels differently. Here are a few demonstrated learnings and consistencies (and predictions of further consistencies) gleaned from the online reactions thus far.
The "Republican Hottie V.P." Is a Thing Now. A look at the Twitter response to Paul Ryan's nomination reminds us that we are strangely obsessed with the looks of Republican V.P. nominees, or at least, we have been since 2008, with Sarah Palin. It's likely that almost no one was freaking out about whether Dick Cheney could "get it" in 2004—though we were saying that back then about John Edwards. Meanwhile, the sexy side of Joe Biden remains a relatively untraversed topical area. Does the supposedly "sexy" shift from Democrat to Republican mean anything? Can a sexy V.P. ever make it onto a winning ticket? A historical reckoning does not signify great promise, but you never know. Relevant: Good hair has a lot to do with sexy, apparently.