Well, at least Mitt didn't land on the battleship Wisconsin in flight gear to announce his Mission Accomplished. His political histrionics also began with another "game change" with him announcing, and later correcting, Paul Ryan as the "next president of the United States."
With Mitt Romney, you never know.
As I watched Act One of the media cliff-hanger finally played out, I must admit that it all gave me a sense of Yogi Berra's "deje vu all over again". As some of the pundits quickly defined Romney's choice as the means to ignite his skeptical conservative base - why must conservatives always have to be ignited? - I recalled the moment from the 2008 GOP presidential convention in which Sarah Palin bounded onto the stage to be introduced as John McCain's exciting runningmate. There was a lot of talk at that time that this firebrand from Alaska or somewhere could be counted on to invigorate McCain's languishing campaign. Some of the white guys in the the convention crowd showed up wearing buttons teling us that Sarah was "hot".
That, too, was to be the "game changer'", which ultimately led to a not-so-flattering book and movie. The irony of it was that it in fact changed Palin's game of rising celebrity to that of a slighted - if wealthier - bystander in today's political crowd.
Ryan, the right-wing "blue collar" Wisconsin congressman, has a long paper trail that will be fully vetted in neighborhoods across America by November.. For now, we're content to conclude that McMitt Romney has been handed a partner by the hard right, succumbing to, say, William Kristol, the Koch Brothers, Karl Rove, Wall Street Journal and Tea Party gurus.
You have to wonder. Haven't the currents polls been telling us that independent voters are giving President Obama a wider edge over Romney? They have. But when you've become a captive of a well-nourished radically ideological base, this isn't really isn't something that worries him.
One of these days I may be forced to take Paul Ryan's advice and read Ayn Rand.
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8 comments:
Paul Ryan was an absolutely incredible choice as a vice presidential nominee. Hopefully his selection will help elevate the campaign and get the candidates talking about the issues that really matter.
I think the public is tiring of the Democrats' obsession with Bain Capital, tax returns, and accusations that Romney is to blame for the death of a steelworker's wife. Enough with the distractions......it is time for a substantive discussion of America's future.
Matt Yglesias has a nice tidbit on the real Paul Ryan:
"Ryan attended a closed meeting with congressional leaders, Bush's Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Sept. 18, 2008. The purpose of the meeting was to disclose the coming economic meltdown and beg Congress to pass legislation to help collapsing banks. Instead of doing anything to help, Ryan left the meeting and on that very same day Paul Ryan sold shares of stock he owned in several troubled banks and reinvested the proceeds in Goldman Sachs, a bank that the meeting had disclosed was not in trouble".
Now that's what I call a "substantive discussion" Egregious. He certainly took care of himself first and "elevated" his game didn't he? This is the good Catholic Mitt was referring to?
More on Ryan:
Ryan's father died when he was 16 and his family receieved Social Security checks which helped his family get through those tough times, This is of course one of the benefits of Social Security.
Knowing that, would Ryan have been able to survive and prosper without those government checks. Where would he be today?
Ryan's adoration of Ayn Rand puzzles me a bit. I can figure out his worship of her right-wing corporatism views. What I can't discern is how a nice Catholic boy like Paul who expresses an unqualified opposition to abortion could reconcile with her professed atheism and support of abortion.
Mencken,
I just googled Matt Yglesias in regards to the "tidbit" that Paul Ryan was guilty of insider trading. It turns out that the report was false and Yglesias has retracted the story and apologized. Once again, liberals are in such a rush to demonize a Republican that they show a complete disregard for the truth. They are literally throwing everything at the wall and hoping that something sticks.
David Hess,
How on earth is Ayn Rand 's atheism relevant to anything in the current political debate? Clearly Ryan was heavily influenced by some of her economic theories. That doesn't mean, however, that he has to agree with Rand on spiritual matters or social issues. Could you be any more trivial or petty?
The two of you are embarassing yourselves and proving my original comment to be true: the left wants to make this election about everything but the issues that matter.
Yglesias is generally reliable and unlike his republican counterparts, he apologized and issued a retraction.
As for myself, I was wrong for posting it. I was wrong are three words Egregious will never utter here.
As for Rand, Ryan said that she was the "central inspiration" for his entering public service. That's just a tad bit more than just being influenced by some of her economic theories. He's just back peddling from Rand as fast as he can now that he's on the ticket. I think the term popularized during one election was "flip-flopping".
Okay Egregious, you got a first down on an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. But don't confuse that with actually having an offense.
Ryan still sold the shares the same day as the meeting.
Fishy or mere coincidence?
Looks like the Ryan stock sale story still has wings in that the Romney Campaign lied three times in their denials of impropriety. I 'd say they're shooting par.
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