Spotlight Shifts to 'Ladylike' Janna Ryan

Janna Little was a high-powered DC tax attorney with a low profile when she married a bachelor considered one of Washington's most eligible in 2000 and moved to his native Wisconsin to raise a family. But that relative anonymity went up in smoke yesterday as she stood beside husband Paul Ryan as he joined Mitt Romney's ticket, reports Politico. Janna Ryan hails from Oklahoma, has sports degrees from Wellesley and George Washington University, worked for a congressional Democrat, and has been a staple in Janesville, Wis., for the last dozen years.

"She's a very soft spoken, elegant, and ladylike. Very family-oriented. Always with her kids, always here picking up food for her family," says the owner of a local restaurant that the Ryans frequent. Despite her quiet years as a stay-at-home mom, observers say that Janna Ryan will take on a visible role in the campaign's homestretch—as well as continue as mom-in-chief. “I am confident of … the centrality of family to her life," says a longtime family friend, "and I’m sure that Janna will be being the mom and being with her kids and protecting her family as much as she can.”