Having had a day to think about it, I'm still not sure I'm sold on the idea of Paul Ryan as the ideal running mate for Mitt Romney. I think Ryan is great, but I suspect having him in the VP slot will be more beneficial for campaigning than it would be for actual governance, should Romney win the election.
Ryan is very well situated in his position as chairman of the House Budget Committee. He's really set the policy and intellectual tone for the Republican Party for the last three years. If Ryan goes to live in the Naval Observatory, the new chairman of the House Budget Committee would likely be Scott Garrett, a congressman from New Jersey. Garrett is about as reliable a conservative as a New Jersey congressman could be, but he's not exactly a high-profile fellow. I think Ryan's leadership would be missed.
Every president swears that they will find a substantive role for their vice president, but veeps usually end up getting sidelined. Dick Cheney was an éminence grise for George W. Bush, but Joe Biden has been more typical -- a guy who goes to funerals and serves as a punchline for Jay Leno jokes. In this model, the buffoonish Joe Biden is perfect -- Biden has been a combination of Spiro Agnew and Shecky Greene. It would be a shame if Ryan found himself in that position. It will be important to pin down specifically how Romney would deploy Ryan.
3 comments:
with the nation owing $700,000 in debt per person, do you think it really matters who gets elected anymore?
consider that 1/2 of the workforce is not even wealth producing... the figures are even worse.
its is fantasy to think that I (as a wealth producer) can pay back that 1.4 million at current rates of compensation (that get smaller by the year while competeing globally).
dude, it dont matter who wins. I, and you, are screwed.
work for govt, its the only gig that pays a living wage anymore.
with the nation owing $700,000 in debt per person, do you think it really matters who gets elected anymore?
Apparently I do. I'd prefer it be with a broom handle than with a telephone pole.
you'll get the pole (steps included), matters not who's elected.
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