Meet Mitt Romney's right hand man...A rising star in the Republican party, Paul Ryan was elected to Congress in 1998 at just 28 years old.As chairman of the House of Representatives budget committee, and a staunch conservative, Ryan's peddling ambitious schemes to slash government spending.These include plans to privatise social security and the government backed Medicare health insurance.In 2010, Ryan authored a controversial alternative budget to counter President Barack Obama's, which had been stalled by Republicans. And in January 2011, it was Ryan who gave the official Republican response to Obama's State of the Union address.So what does the President of the United States make of Romney's no. 2?SOT U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:"I want to congratulate Mr. Ryan. I know him, I welcome him to the race. Congressman Ryan is a decent man, he is a family man, he is an articulate spokesman for Governor Romney's vision. But it is a vision that I fundamentally disagree with."With Ryan on the scene, the Republican campaign's been turned up a notch...The pair are touring key states that they need to win in November's election- on the list- North Carolina, Florida, Ohio and Ryan's home state of Wisconsin.Youthful and charismatic, Ryan could be the burst of energy Romney needs for his campaign after falling behind the Democrats in recent polls.[[INTRO]]Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney has chosen conservative Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate. Chair of the powerful House of Representatives' budget committee, Ryan supports deep cuts in government spending and wants to reverse President Obama's healthcare reforms. So what does Obama make of him? He made his first public comments on Ryan, describing him as a "decent, family" man but disgareeing with his ideological standpoint. Here's a closer look at the Republican party's no. 2...[[AUTHOR]]Clementine Logan