“Let's Get Fiscal!”

Do the Paul Ryan...

The ladies definitely seem to like Paul Ryan :)  I've overheard several fawning female conversations at work, where some of the participants are known progressives.  Uncle Joe Biden can't even come close...

Quite a Night...

It was quite a night at the Republican National Convention – a whole series of speakers with only one sour note (McCain) amongst them.  Several of the speeches were excellent: Condoleeza Rice, Susana Martinez, Mike Huckabee, and (most especially) Paul Ryan. 

At this point in my life, political speeches rarely arouse emotions in me – I'm too busy thinking about what was just said, or (more commonly) not said.  I watch out for weasel words and empty, unfulfillable promises.  Ryan's speech got to me; somewhere along the line I lost my detatchment and got immersed in the speech, transfixed.  This man is giving me hope that real policy change might be possible...

Ryan's speech had many great moments. One of my favorite was this one:

College graduates should not have to live out their 20s in their childhood bedrooms, staring up at fading Obama posters and wondering when they can move out and get going with life.

That's just perfect. A not-so-subtle jab at Obama and an invitation to young voters, all in single, memorable sentence. “...fading Obama posters” instantly brought an image to mind that will endure.

Then there was this:

None of us have to settle for the best this administration offers – a dull, adventureless journey from one entitlement to the next, a government-planned life, a country where everything is free but us.

Listen to the way we’re spoken to already, as if everyone is stuck in some class or station in life, victims of circumstances beyond our control, with government there to help us cope with our fate.

It’s the exact opposite of everything I learned growing up in Wisconsin, or at college in Ohio. When I was waiting tables, washing dishes, or mowing lawns for money, I never thought of myself as stuck in some station in life. I was on my own path, my own journey, an American journey where I could think for myself, decide for myself, define happiness for myself. That’s what we do in this country. That’s the American Dream. That’s freedom, and I’ll take it any day over the supervision and sanctimony of the central planners.

That's an articulation of a big idea – freedom – into a political fight where the conventional wisdom is that big ideas don't play, don't work.  Well, this one works for me, and I hope it works well in this campaign.  If the Romney/Ryan campaign uses big ideas to win the White House, that's got the potential to change the way future presidents campaign.  In a good way, a very good way.

Ann Althouse summed up her reaction to Ryan's speech this way:

Ryan did a brilliant job. It was much more than a fine speech and an excellent delivery. He embodied that speech. We saw a brilliant candidate.

I agree completely.  Neo-neocon, writing about Ryan's speech, said this:

If I were Obama, I’d be feeling just a litle bit shaky now—even if I were a narcissist. Or maybe especially if I were a narcissist.

You'd think. But I'd bet not.

In general, both news and blogs sites are reacting very positively to Ryan's speech – even in some quarters where you'd expect reflexive critique (like, say, MSNBC).  It's hard to imagine how Ryan could have done any better...

If you're one of the majority who didn't watch Paul Ryan's speech, you can find both video and transcript here.

Interesting Speeches at the RNC Convention...

Artur Davis, Ann Romney, and Chris Christie all gave excellent speeches at the first night of the RNC convention last night.  Artur Davis' speech wasn't carried on most TV channels, so I've posted it below.

I thought all three of them were very effective, each in their own way.  Ann Romney's speech was notable for simultaneously being a very effective political speech, but not sounding like a political speech.  Chris Christie's “hard truths” and “second American century” were but just a couple of the excellent rhetorical devices he deployed.  Another was “Leaders don't read polls – leaders change polls!” – that's one that could be used to describe him.  Artur Davis provided a compelling example of someone who was hoodwinked by Obama in 2008 and is now searching for an alternative.  I sure hope his estimate that there are 6 million more like him proves to be accurate!

A good starting night for the RNC convention, I think.  To the extent that Democrats or Independents were watching, there's a chance it might have triggered some interest in the Republican candidate.  And tonight is Paul Ryan night...

Ryan Poster of the Day...

Paul Ryan: Viral Images...

Oh, this is going to be an interesting election season!

Hey Girl, It's Joe Biden!

The Hey Girl, It's Paul Ryan site has gone viral since Ryan was named to the Romney/Ryan ticket.  It's chock-a-block full of images and comments like the one at right.  It's very clearly pro-Ryan.

Now there's a parody site called Hey Girl, It's Joe Biden.  It's full of images of Joe Biden like the one below, not quite so laudatory as the ones for Paul Ryan.  But funny.  Oh, so funny! 

It's going to be an interesting election year...

The Pigs Are Flying!

Wolf Blitzer is the flying pig in this story.  Wolf's efforts at political reporting are noteworthy in the main only for their rigorous hewing to the progressive political narrative.  He must have skipped a day on his meds for this one, as he executes a very nice takedown of Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic Party's National Chairman and acolyte of Nancy Pelosi.  In this segment, she wriggles very hard, trying to misportray Paul Ryan's proposed Medicare reform – and she appears to be very surprised that Wolf is not being the lapdog he usually is:


Wolf, you should try this more often.  After a few dozen such efforts, you might just be able to regain a little respect from your fellow citizens...

By the way, the comments on the YouTube site are quite funny.  The first one:

About effin' time a journalist kept the light on the cockroach.

Ryan...

Several readers inquired about my thoughts on Romney choosing Paul Ryan as his running mate.  Overall, I'm positive about it.  One article I read summed up my feelings pretty well with a single short phrase: “A grownup has shown up.”  That's what I like about the choice of Ryan – it signals Romney's intent to have an adult conversation with the voters about actual solutions to vexing, politically intractable problems like the ballooning costs of retirement and healthcare entitlements.  Ryan is a “wonk” who gives evidence of actually understanding how capitalism works, a rare trait in a national-level politician, and one to be cherished.  I also like the intellectual contrast between the Romney-Ryan ticket and the Obama-Biden ticket.  I think Obama's intellectual powers are vastly overrated, and Biden, of course, can just barely remember to breathe.  Romney and Ryan, on the other hand, are actual thinking, sentient beings. 

There is one big concern that the Romney-Ryan ticket poses for me, however.  It seems clear that the only way they can win is if they have the adult conversation...and the voters respond like adults.  With over half of all Americans now on the dole to one degree or another, I'm not so sure that's going to happen.  I console myself with this thought: better to find out now if America is doomed, rather than a few elections down the pike.  Given the choice of Obama-Biden or Romney-Ryan, if the voters choose the former, I'll know there is no hope at all for our future.  Knowing that this November will give me more time to figure out where else I would rather live...

Now, my blog girl Rachel has a bit more enthusiasm for Ryan's selection – so much so that it took her three posts to get it all out of her system.  Put down your coffee first, and then read this in order: one, two, and three.  She shows several Iowahawk tweets, including the one at right which had me rolling on the floor and clutching my belly...

What He Said...

Yesterday I watched with dismay and disgust Obama's comments dismissing the achievements of entrepreneurs.  Today I read about Paul Ryan's reaction, including this excerpt:

His comments seem to derive from a naive vision of a government-centered society and a government-directed economy. It stems from an idea that the nucleus of society and the economy is government not the people. … It is antithetical to the American idea. We believe in free communities, and this is a statist attack on free communities. … As all of his big government spending programs fail to restore jobs and growth.

I couldn't find a complete transcript or video of the talk this excerpt was taken from.  But he's speaking for me here...

The Divider vs. the Thinker...

Peggy Noonan has another great column up, this one focused on the differences between Obama and Paul Ryan (the thinker, if it wasn't obvious).  The conclusion:

But Republicans, in their desire to defend free economic activity, shouldn't be snookered by unthinking fealty to big business. They should never defend—they should actively oppose—the kind of economic activity that has contributed so heavily to the crisis. Here Mr. Ryan slammed "corporate welfare and crony capitalism."

"Why have we extended an endless supply of taxpayer credit to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, instead of demanding that their government guarantee be wound down and their taxpayer subsidies ended?" Why are tax dollars being wasted on bankrupt, politically connected solar energy firms like Solyndra? "Why is Washington wasting your money on entrenched agribusiness?" 

Rather than raise taxes on individuals, we should "lower the amount of government spending the wealthy now receive." The "true sources of inequity in this country," he continued, are policies "that enriches the powerful, and empty promises that betray the powerless." The real class warfare that threatens us is "a class of bureaucrats and connected crony capitalists trying to rise above the rest of us, call the shots, rig the rules, and preserve their place atop society."

If more Republicans thought—and spoke—like this, the party would flourish. People would be less fearful for the future. And Mr. Obama wouldn't be seeing his numbers go up. 

Go read the whole thing...