The day after Paul Ryan was picked as Mitt Romney's running mate, the 42-year-old Wisconsin congressman made a triumphant return to his home state, choking back tears as he addressed more than 10,000 supporters at a rally in Waukesha.Standing behind Ryan on stage that afternoon, beaming with pride as he extolled the virtues of being a born and bred Wisconsinite, were Gov. Scott Walker and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. It was a moment that illuminated just how much these three friends and political soul mates, born four years apart and raised in towns less than an hour’s drive...

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