The vice presidency is often a spring board to a presidential nomination. If Romney wins in November, we could have a solid conservative running for president in 8 years.
The liberal/Marxist/progressive/fascist/ collectivist left didn't get this far all at once. They did it over time. Conservatives should strive for constant improvement as well and Romney/Ryan is an improvement over Obama. In 8 years Ryan would be a serious improvement.
Sometimes but they're not all that successful. Nixon failed (the first time), Mondale failed. Gore failed.
Bush 41 was an exception and survived just one term and Nixon didn't finish his second one.
Only 14 VPs have become president, with only 5 elected to that position and Adams, Jefferson and Van Buren were a long time ago.