After losing ground to U.S. PresidentBarack Obama's relentless attacks, Republican challengerMitt Romneyin recent days has stepped up his game with a bold pick for vice president and more concrete promises on the economy.

Critics have panned Romney for not getting down and dirty with the president in an eye-gouging, ear-biting brawl. When Obama throws a devastating left hook, Romney returns with a mere jab; when Obama throws a brutal head kick, Romney simply blocks.

But the challenger made a bold move on Aug. 11 in choosing as his running mate Rep. Paul Ryan, a controversial pick for Ryan's big plans to shake up the system and his message that cutting spending is needed to avert a fiscal nightmare.

Conservative pundits applauded the former Massachusetts governor's move. He could no longer afford to play small-ball politics, and had to do something to boost what many have called his boring, nice-guy image.

Appearing on Fox News, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Charles Krauthammer said having Ryan in Romney's corner has injected much-needed lifeblood, youth and energy into his campaign.

RYAN HAS AN ECONOMIC EDGE

In practical terms, Ryan boasts an encyclopedic knowledge of the economy and an ability to boil it down to layman's terms, which could prove a boon to team Romney.

"Ryan really brings the ability to take complex things and boil them down to cogent terms that you can sell on a stump. Because it's really hard to explain the economy to anybody," said Republican strategist Ford O'Connell.

The real value that he provides, however, is that he sends a clear message to independents that Romney is serious about putting the U.S. fiscal house in order, he said.

Ryan also polls well with white, working class voters.

In 2008 Obama took 40 percent of that demographic, the highest since former president Jimmy Carter in 1976.

"The most frustrated group in the electorate is now white working class voters," O'Connell said. "Who polls well with white, working class voters? Paul Ryan."

On Friday, Ryan spoke in key state Virginia promising nearly half a million jobs in that state and said Romney's economic plan would create 12 million jobs nationwide over four years.

Some critics, however, contended U.S. Senator Marco Rubio may have been a wiser pick, as he would help the challenger to peel off at least some of Obama's Latino base.

"Marco Rubio is a brilliant talent and he's the future of the Republican Party. But Rubio is not as experienced as Ryan," O' Connell said. So far, Romney's main message has been the economy, although much of it has been blaming Obama, just as Obama blamed his predecessors, to the chagrin of voters.

"Voters want Romney to do more than just run as the anti-Obama candidate," O'Connell said. "They want him to give them a reason to vote for him, and the best way to do that is for him to talk about the future."

A DIFFICULT ROAD AHEAD FOR ROMNEY

Indeed, Romney has his work cut out for him.

Over the last century, only five incumbent presidents have lost, which puts the onus on the challenger to talk about the future.

"Americans are really tired of the blame game. They know that what's going on now sucks. But for them to change horses, you've got to tell them what you're going to do in the future," O' Connell said. "And you can't just be a little better, you've got to be a lot better, because the incumbent is extremely likeable."

Still, there is time for Romney. A mid-July CBS News/New York Times poll found that only 45 percent of registered voters were paying "a lot" of attention to the presidential election.

"As the conventions and the debates occur, more Americans will begin to follow the election and start deciding on their vote," said Jennifer Marsico, senior research associate at the American Enterprise Institute.

Obama's popularity ratings are below 50 percent, and anytime that happens to an incumbent, there is cause for concern, analysts said. But both candidates are running neck-in-neck and it is anybody's game.

Pundits in recent weeks have charged Obama with avoiding the tough issues, touring the country and taking questions from local media on his favorite local dishes, as well as sitting for interviews with entertainment news outlets such as People Magazine and Entertainment Tonight. That will do little to help him win the election, some analysts said.