NORTH CANTON, Ohio - To welcome Representative Paul D. Ryan to Walsh University, his name and that of his running mate were in lights on the basketball scoreboard: Romney, 11, Ryan, 6.
The numbers stand for Nov. 6, Election Day, but the matchup that supporters of the Republican ticket really anticipate is the one between Mr. Ryan and the incumbent vice-president, Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Twice, local politicians who introduced Mr. Ryan at rallies this week drew foot-stomping applause when they told crowds to circle Oct. 11 on their calenders, the date of the only vice-presidential debate, to be held in Danville, Ky.
Mr. Ryan, who usually aims his fire at President Obama, took a jab Thursday at Mr. Biden himself. “It's great to be here in North Canton - or as Joe Biden might say, ‘It's great to be here in Nevada,''' he said.
It was a reference to Mr. Biden's geographical confusion on Tuesday, when he told
Republicans are excited about the Biden-versus-Ryan showdown because of Mr. Ryan's rhetorical skills and command of policy.
But the contest is also a deeper one, because both men were chosen as running mates in part for cultural reasons, namely their appeal to white working-class voters: Mr. Biden, the son of blue-collar Scranton, Pa., and Mr. Ryan, of Janesville, Wis., a manufacturing city that has suffered from the kind of plant closings that have afflicted the Rust Belt.
Mr. Ryan seemed to be courting blue-collar voters here in Stark County, south of Akron, a perennial bellwether in presidential elections, when he described the loss of jobs that followed the shutdown of a General Motors plant in his hometown.
“A lot of my high school buddies worked at that G.M. plant,'' he said. He wove the closing and loss of j obs into a critique of Mr. Obama for failing to exploit domestic energy sources and being responsible for rising gas prices.
“I remember President Obama visiting it when he was first running, saying he'll keep that plant open,†Mr. Ryan said. “One more broken promise. We used to build Tahoes and Suburbans. One of the reasons that plant got shut down was $4 gasoline.''
But the statement was misleading in suggesting that the plant's closing was linked to policies of the Obama administration that affect gas prices.
Although G.M. cited slow sales of S.U.V.'s because of high fuel costs when it closed the plant, the decision was announced in June 2008, months before Mr. Obama was elected. President George W. Bush, a Republican, was in charge of national energy policy at the time.
Mr. Ryan also attacked Mr. Obama on trade policy, criticizing the president for not being tough enough on China, which he accused of blocking access to its markets and manipu lating its currency. “Mitt Romney and I are going to crack down on China cheating,†he said to loud applause in the basketball arena.
Leaving North Canton, Mr. Ryan added another gloss to his blue-collar credentials. Making an impromptu stop at the Original Hot Dog Shoppe in Warren, he said as he entered, “I'm just here to get some dogs.â€
To a man with a South Dakota cap, he said, “Good pheasant hunting up there.''
Mr. Ryan took his seat and was served one of the house specials, a hot dog and “fries with sauce.''
A boothmate, a retired local official, told Mr. Ryan: “This is the country club of the west side, I call it. Those two seats right there.†Pointing, he then said, “I was Norm in ‘Cheers' when I was in office. You wanted to meet the representative, you had business, come down and have a seat.''
“No kidding,'' Mr. Ryan replied.
