THE RYAN PICK:
THE HAND OF GOD?

By: John LeBoutillier

Mitt Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan to be his running mate will not help Romney win the election. Romney has run such a poor campaign that it is now doubtful he is going to win – barring an economic collapse – even though this is an entirely winnable election.

Romney has run one of the worst challenger campaigns in the modern political era. From his poor, message-less speeches and empty interviews to the self-created mess of Cayman-Swiss bank accounts/un-revealed income taxes/Bain/offshore jobs, he has sabotaged his own chances of ever being President.

He now realizes this; a month ago he was basically tied with Obama and thus refused to gamble with ideas or a positive message. Then, beginning with his fiasco of a trip to Europe, his poll numbers have begun to collapse. His staff has been in panic since early July.

Thus, the Veep pick. Instead of a safe choice, i.e. Senator Rob Portman, with a chance to help electorally in Ohio, Team Romney knew it had to throw a Hail Mary pass and hope it re-jiggers the entire race.

Enter Paul Ryan, an ultra-serious heavyweight on the exploding budget and debt issues. The Ryan Budget is his baby – and it is indeed controversial. It will soon become a central point in the Presidential – and Congressional – races.

Here is where The Hand of God may now be in this campaign: the underlying governmental problem we face is our inability to get ahold of federal spending – especially Social Security and Medicare.

For decades candidates have been told not to talk about these two programs. They are “the third rails” of American politics. So both parties have avoided the reality of exploding debt and bad demographics aiming to bankrupt us all – fairly soon. Instead, all these candidates care about is saving their own skin and getting re-elected.

Paul Ryan has had the courage to not only talk about them but to offer future solutions. Maybe they are not the right solutions; that’s for the American people to decide. But the first step in saving/fixing these entitlements is to talk about them. The American people deserve a full airing of the financial situation. Then, an informed electorate can decide.

Mitt Romney, for the political reasons articulated above, needed a game-changer and selected Paul Ryan. The result may very well be that it does not help the GOP win this year; in fact, the controversial Ryan Budget will now certainly become an issue in several key Senate races and we may not re-gain control of the Senate for that very reason.

But – for the future of America – at least the key budget issues are going to be put front and center into the public sphere.