Manassas Patch: Cheering Crowd Welcomes Ryan, Romney

Hours after being selected as Mitt Romney's running mate, U.S. Rep. and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan told voters at a Saturday rally in Manassas, VA that America has "had the worst recovery in 70 years."

He went on to say that voters "can turn this thing around. We can get back on the right track."

When Romney ran Bain Capital, Ryan said, "he created jobs. He made enterprises."

"You deserve to decide what kind of country we're going to have, what kind of people we want to be. If we do this right and reapply the principles that built this country, we honor you," Ryan said.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said energy prices are through the roof, but "we don't have the policy to use our God-given resources."

"We need the GOP, the great opportunity party of America," McDonnell said.

McDonnell, whom until this morning many believed would join Romney as a running mate in his bid for the white house, has said he will be a .

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney arrived at the Harris Pavilion in Manassas in his "blue state tour" bus, flanked by a motorcade.

The pavilion was covered in a sea of flags, waved by hundreds of voters waiting to hear the former Massachusetts governor speak.

For photos from the pavilion and the surrounding area, 

Taking the stage, Virginia Del. Jackson Miller (R-50th) said Mitt Romney's selection of U.S. Rep Paul Ryan "was not the safest pick, was he? He was the bold pick," he told audience members awaiting the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.

Miller, a real estate agent, former Army captain and police officer, said he and his partners who built his real estate business "built it ourselves," referencing a statement by President Barack Obama last month in which he said “if you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that" during a stop in Roanoke, Va.

made the campaign stop with McDonnell and U.S. Senate candidate George Allen at 4:15 on Saturday at in Manassas on his bus tour of states in play this election cycle. 

Romney was in Norfolk, VA when he announced that he selected .

Manassas will be the final bus stop on Saturday. The bus tour will continue on to North Carolina, Florida, and Ohio Sunday through Tuesday.

The Republican National Convention will be Aug. 27-30 in Tampa, FL where the GOP presidential nominee pick will become official.