Cheeseheads welcome Paul Ryan at his other homecoming

At a GOP fundraiser held within a 10 mile drive of Capitol Hill, the first thing Paul Ryan noticed when he took the stage were all the familiar faces in the ballroom.

The next thing he noticed were the five supporters parked at the front of the crowd wearing yellow, foam cheeseheads.

"Man, look at that. Cheeseheads!" the Wisconsinite exclaimed. "Did you get those cheeseheads in Milwaukee or did you buy them here?"

He waited for a response, and said "Good. See, you can buy cheeseheads anywhere in America."

For the past fourteen years, while Congress has been in session, Paul Ryan has spent the majority of his week here in the DC metropolitan area, with weekends devoted to time back home with his family in Janesville.

So it was probably no surprise that during his first trip back to the area since Mitt Romney named him running mate, he drew a crowd of 750 attendees to his fundraiser, mostly Capitol Hill types in suits and skirt suits.

It cost attendees $100 to see him, $1000 dollars for a photo, or $15,000 for dinner.

Amid a crowd of familiar faces, Ryan said, with his voice hoarse, "You know I'm going to keep my voice a little low. You can tell I've been basically speaking non-stop since Saturday."

For the third time that day, Ryan wrapped up a public appearance quoting one of his favorite public figures.

"You know what I'm a big fan of Winston Churchill. I have a bust of Winston Churchill in my office right now," Ryan said. "Winston Churchill probably got it right when he said the Americans can be counted upon to do the right thing only after they've exhausted all the other possibilities, so I think we're at that point. This is an inflection point, this is a choice of two futures."

Ryan was making a brief stop in the area before getting back on the plane for Florida, where on Saturday morning he will deliver a closely-watched speech on Medicare and make a play for seniors in the swing state who play a key role in deciding the race.