We generally prefer to avoid dipping our toes too deeply into the political arena, but we think we can judge Mitt Romney’s choice of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate to be a PR win–for the moment, at least. Why? It serves as an irresistible dog whistle to those who make their livings polling and pontificating about politics, and the presumptive Republican nominee’s recent PR stumbles have now been obliterated by a wave of news and opinions about his new, “edgy” veep pick.

Judging by a big surge in related activity throughout the Twitter-verse (ugh), Romney won the weekend by announcing what struck many as a bold choice while making the pundit class look a little silly in the process. Let the “pros and cons” pile-on begin!

Of course, we can’t be sure whether fresh-faced congressman, sometime Rand fan and former marketing specialist Ryan will boost Romney’s chances in the long run (especially given these unsettling USA Today/Gallup poll numbers), but we didn’t hear of any PR flaps or read any new stories about tax returns this weekend, so we’d say the desired result has been achieved. Consider the conversation shifted.

Hey, if nothing else, Romney’s pick allowed for the debut of the PaulRyanGosling Twitter feed. We try to celebrate the small victories.