Romney's VP decision: The tick tock

9 hours ago CNN Producers Kevin Bohn and Rachel Streitfeld (CNN) - When Mitt Romney sat down for an interview with CNN Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger last Saturday in Evansville, Indiana he wasn't giving anything up.

"I have nothing for you on the vice presidential front...I give nothing on that. But I can assure you by the third day of the Republican convention we will nominate a Republican Vice President."

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Now we know, according to a Romney campaign adviser, the presumptive Republican nominee had already made his pick for a vice president. The aide said Romney had decided the previous Wednesday, August 1. He had just returned the night before from his overseas trip the previous night.

While visiting campaign headquarters that day, Romney placed a call to Rep. Paul Ryan.

"He asked to meet with Ryan in person, and they subsequently met and the offer was made," the adviser said.

So the day after his Evansville stop, last Sunday – August 5th – Romney and Ryan met in person, according to a campaign aide. The campaign so far is being mum about other details. We know Romney was at his lakeside home the next day – Monday August 6th – and we know he was supposed to go from Indiana to New Hampshire.

One interesting note Ann Romney was still overseas at the Olympics during much of this time because a horse she co-owned, Rafalca, was competing in the dressage competition. It failed to advance after Tuesday's races and then she returned home.

In the meantime, Ryan kept up his public schedule during the week – attending a news conference last Tuesday in the wake of shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, which is part of his congressional district. He also made some campaign stops for some local Republican assembly candidates and Rep. Sean Duffy in northern Wisconsin during the week.

He told reporters he was still planning on going on his annual family camping trip to Colorado – which was supposed to begin Saturday – and that he was going to spend Friday packing up. He did attend a memorial service for the victims of the shooting on Friday. When he returned from that service and reporters asked him about the rumors he might be the vice presidential pick Ryan would only say "I don't want to get into that."

Both Romney and Ryan appeared on Bill Bennett's radio show last Thursday, but they were not on together.

One caller told Ryan: "May I be the first to say I would be very proud to have you as vice president."

CNN National Political Correspondent Jim Acosta contributed to this story

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