- The fact that no Republican candidate has won the White House without winning Ohio has become one of those endlessly invoked political truisms, and while Mitt Romney has already defied history by losing the South Carolina primary and winning the nomination, he is taking no chances with the Buckeye State. Romney and running mate Ryan will be in Ohio today, holding a 5:40 p.m. joint rally at the the town square in Lancaster. Ryan will continue on to Youngstown, where he is scheduled to arrive at 8:30.

- Virginia is also clearly in Romney's crosshairs, and the candidate will continue showering the state with attention during a 12:15 appearance at the Mobility Supercenter in Richmond, Va.

- Fun debate fact: Ryan spoke for less time than Vice President Joe Biden last night (40 minutes and 12 seconds to Biden's 41 minutes and 32 seconds), but Ryan crammed in more verbiage, getting out 7,463 words to Biden's 7,013. For full coverage of last night's showdown, check out the International Business Times' reporting.

- The verdict on the debate, by the way, is mixed -- more muddled than the insta-consensus that Mitt Romney beat President Obama last week. While Ryan was at times overshadowed by Biden's aggressiveness, the vice president's constant grinning and interrupting may have cost him.

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