Ryan boosts GOP ticket in fleeting Pa. visit

"We have a jobs crisis. Wouldn't it be nice to have a job creator in the White House for a change?" Ryan asked, provoking an approving roar from the throng that nearly filled a private airplane hangar at Harrisburg International Airport.

The Wisconsin congressman's visit was part of a daylong tour that included Ohio, Virginia and Florida, and it came one day before Romney is slated to visit Pennsylvania for the first time since September.

Independent polls have shown Democratic President Barack Obama leading all year in Pennsylvania, whose 20 electoral votes are the fifth-largest prize. Romney's campaign hopes the 11th-hour blitz of personal appearances and TV ads will turn that around before Tuesday's election.

"Unfortunately for Romney, showing up three days before the election won't convince Pennsylvanians to go backward," Obama's campaign said in response to Ryan's comments.

Some of Pennsylvania's best-known GOP politicians joined Ryan on the stage. They included Gov. Tom Ridge, former national homeland security chief Tom Ridge, a former Pennsylvania governor; and U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, who shared an apartment with Ryan earlier in their congressional careers.