NYC Letter: "America's Comeback Team"

Day 1,295 of CHOPE
D-minus 161 Days

Back in 2000 the Republican presumptive nominee George W. Bush had a long short list of possible VP picks: Dick Cheney, John Danforth, Elizabeth Dole, Bill Frist, Chuck Hagel, John Kasich, Frank Keating, John McCain, George Pataki, Tom Ridge, and Fred Thompson. Each brought something, good and bad, to the ticket. Asked at the time who Mr. Bush might pick, we speculated that if Mr. Bush wanted to win foremost he could pick anyone among the telegenic media favorites, if he wanted to govern he would pick the crusty Mr. Cheney. Mr. Bush chose to govern.

Mr. Romney had a similar choice and chose similarly.

MITT ROMNEY NAMES
PAUL RYAN VP NOMINEE

August 11, 2012 (ABC News) - Mitt Romney has selected Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI, 1st), a seven-term Republican from Janesville, Wis., to be the GOP's vice-presidential nominee, the campaign announced early Saturday morning.

... Romney and Ryan are expected to campaign together in Virginia today, where Romney will announce his decision in person in front of the U.S.S. Wisconsin in Norfolk, Va. Romney will kick off a bus tour through the critical swing state at that event.

Early Saturday morning, the website RomneyRyan.com went live, without any direct reference to Ryan on the site. In its announcement, the Romney campaign pitched Romney and Ryan as "America's Comeback Team".

Jazz Shaw at Hot Air explains the Ryan pick exactly right:

An election which thus far has been pretty much about nothing more than lies, damned lies, dogs and dancing horses may be on the verge of getting very serious. And it’s a conversation which the nation desperately needs to have. In the words of one analyst this morning on CNN, the Republicans were "going to have to talk about the Ryan plan anyway. Why not put forward the best person to defend it?" Without question, Paul Ryan is that man.

RYAN PUTS SPENDING AT
CENTER OF CAMPAIGN
[Original Title]
By Byron York
August 10, 2012 (WaEx)

Paul Ryan represent Obama's most horrifying nightmare: math.

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) August 11, 2012

While Democrats are not serious about the fisc, Mr. Ryan is.

Coincident with the Ryan pick, today is the 1,200th day without a budget from the Democrat-controlled Senate. The Republican-controlled House passed its budget -- Mr. Ryan's budget -- on March 29 with no Democrat support.

Then there is the impact of the Ryan pick on Mr. Ryan's home state, Wisconsin and its 10 electoral votes.

PAUL RYAN VP SELECTION GIVES ROMNEY
THE CHANGE [SIC] TO WIN WISCONSIN,
AN IMPORTANT SWING STATE
IN ELECTION 2012
August 11, 2012 (PolicyMic)

Mr. Romney trails Mr. Obama by ~5 points in Wisconsin. If nothing else the Ryan pick forces Campaign Barry to spend more time and treasure in the purplish state.

One more plum that comes with the Ryan pick. Mr. Ryan's VP debate with Joe "I'm No Economist" Biden. Don't expect Campaign Barry to dust off their 2008 playbook and run Mr. Obama against Mr. Romney's VP pick.

CHOPE.

Game on.