Saturday, August 11, 2012

Romney Picks Ryan for VP Slot

I must admit, I'm a bit baffled by the selection of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney's VP candidate.  With his lagging poll numbers, I guess he figured he had to make a "bold" move and not a "safe" move.  Still, I'm not sure what he gains by selecting Paul Ryan.  I guess it beats John McCain's Sarah Palin selection, but not by much.

The fiscal conservatives will like the pick but they would have voted for Romney anyways, I doubt it will sway the moderates or independents that Romney will need to win over.  

The Romney team had also previously stated that they wanted someone with some executive experience, someone who could slide right into the Presidency at a moments notice if need be, Paul Ryan is a career politician, he's never held a leadership position in anything he's done.  I know the comeback from the right on this will be that President Obama's prior work experience wasn't extensive either, and that's a fair argument, but given the fact that one of the main complaints the right has about President Obama is his lack of executive experience, they missed a golden opportunity to set up a strong contrast between Mitt Romney and the President in this area.

I guess it could help Romney in the state of Wisconsin, but historically Wisconsin is not a swing state, it's really not a make or break state for either candidate.  Rob Portman had some baggage, but he would have at least helped in Ohio (which is a traditional swing state).  I also doubt that Paul Ryan's budget plan will help in the state of Florida, which is another key swing state, they've got a huge senior citizen population there and Ryan wants to gut Medicare and Social Security, I do not see that going over well.


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