A RYAN FOR A PALIN AND A LUCKY OBAMA

All the world is happy - the conservative base of the GOP and the Democrats. The most unhappy camper has to be Romney - the teflon candidate who bowed to right wing pressure to appoint the ideologue Paul Ryan. If any further evidence was needed that Romney would do anything to become President this is it. This “Hail Mary” is up there with McCain’s appointment of Sarah Palin. Ryan too is the darling of the tea party. This has to be the final nail in Romney’s coffin.

RIGHT WING ANGER

The writing was on the wall, that it was gonna be Ryan, when all hell broke loose, last week, on a Romney staffer. An Obama add had blamed the death of a worker that had become uninsured as a result of a Bain business decision. The well meaning staffer defended Romney by saying that had the worker been in Massachusetts he would have had Romneycare! (Obamacare).

Rush Limbaugh, the GOP media choirmaster and Anne Coulter went ballistic  - when if ever would Romney shed his “liberal” past? It is no use Romney explaining that all he was doing then, was doing what he had to do become a Governor in a liberal state. (Much like he is doing now to become President). He either had to once and for all get off the pot. So out went Pawlenty a boring old white male, who was Romney’s soul mate, as well as Portman who could have at least given Romney a chance in Ohio.

Also Romney was getting grief everywhere. Even Murdoch's Conservative Flagship, The Wall Street Journal, was hammering unmercifully.  

WHO IS RYAN?

Ryan is the author of the Republican’s new economic plan that will, among other details, end Medicare as it is known today. He will disband it and give Seniors vouchers that many perceive will leave the latter with big bills to pay. Also his tax plan, the Democrats claim will favor the rich. It really is fair to say it is a detailed alternative to government as it now is. It is 

Romney has been defined by the Democrats as a Wall Street type who made his millions around the edges with fuzzy deals and outsourcing jobs. Nobody dislikes millionaires as they all aspire to be one. The vituperation could not be put on those who have built empires “productively”. But with the mortgage crisis and bank fandangling and short selling coupled with the jobs crisis nobody likes the “Wall Street Types”.

So Romney is “not liked”.

In terms of Romney’s actual economic “plan” he has been long on generalities and short on specifics. Nobody can say that about the highly intelligent Ryan.

So the Democrats can now fill in the blanks.

This is what the plan all means. Romney cannot duck and dive and will have to stand by every last proposal in the Ryan plan.

DEMOCRAT’S JOY

It is fair to say that the Republicans in general have not trotted out the Ryan plan. It was obviously to be avoided for as long as possible. Preferably till after the election. Now it is front and center with the Presidential candidate and his friends that ostensibly benefit the most from it.

Within minutes of the announcement the Democratic  e – mails were out to all the faithful and everyone and anyone, rubbing in what they perceive to be a big advantage to them.

REPUBLICAN EXCITEMENT

This has certainly energized the Republican base much as Sarah Palin did for McCain. But the base had to vote for Romney for him to have a ghost of a chance anyway. Now he has a ghost of a chance.

Romney’s problem are the swing states with all the demographics and the polls steadily solidifying for Obama. His problem is not to ensure that Alabama lands up in his column.

MEDICARE SCARE

If Obamacare had problems because the Seniors and their children did not want Medicare tampered with in anyway can you imagine the hysteria Ryancare is going to generate. The only good news is that Ryan is not going to blunder that he can see “Russia” from his stoep.

ROMNEY NEVER WILL BE PRESIDENT

One situation any potential Presidential candidate wants to avoid is to pick someone who is going to be the center of attraction. Ryan is going to take over as he has a fixed target that fits in nicely with the way the  Democrats have framed Romney. He will suck all the political oxygen.

Even in the unlikely event that Romney gets elected he is a total prisoner of the right and he has picked his own jailor.

OBAMA A LUCKY FELLOW

Obama is one lucky fellow. With his inexperience and insecurities - not to mention his failure to deliver on his promises, he is still an odds on favorite to win the Presidency. If Obama goes down in history as a transformative President he has the Republicans to thank. They have framed into something he is not - a radical social changer. In fact he is a middle of the road Democrat but the Republicans have decided that he wants to turn America into a European "failed" socialist country. They have gone for broke. He is "UnAmerican" when, in fact he is more American, in values, than most.  His underlying dynamic is fairness but he has a desire to be accepted. Turning him to some alien who has been programmed like a Manchurian candidate just does not fly to those that really matter in this election.

It is going to be a fascinating second term.