It ... is ... over

I should think that this morning the happiest man in America is Steve Schmidt.

For four years this former top adviser to presidential candidate John McCain has suffered the torment of damnable ridicule and roasted burlesque: How could you guys have been so dumb as to enlist Sarah Palin as the VP pick? Where was the "process"? Were you really so desperate and knowingly doomed as to heave overboard all semblance of good judgment and prudence? In brief, what were you thinking?

Now, though, the pressure is off Mr. Schmidt, the ridicule is redirected, the snickering burlesque has relocated, and that fundamental question--What were you thinking?--has descended on the reigning nincompoops at the Romney campaign. Alas, Sarah Palin has been replaced as America's worst vice-presidential candidate ever, and Steve Schmidt can now avert the slings and arrows of snickering interviewers. Four words: Paul Ryan, Eric Fehrnstrom.

For the last two years, President Obama has struggled to fashion the election as a choice. Mitt Romney has countered, logically, with a referendum. For the Republican, a choice election is a lost election; he would instead billboard the economy's chronic troubles and recommend a fix or two and thereby capitalize on electoral malaise. Romney's plan entailed a simple, straightforward strategy which had decades of empirical justification behind it.

Yet three little complications emerged. One, jobs have continued their return, despite congressional Republicans' best efforts to waylay every last American family. Two, Romney somehow forgot to piece together a plausibly specific, alternative economic plan (the Keystone pipeline is no fix for a $15 trillion economy). And third, Mitt Romney has proceeded to demonstrate beyond any doubt or mistaken impression that he is the bumbling, befuddled, squawking and exceedingly irritating Jerry Lewis of this Martin & Lewis presidential contest.

The Democratic mauling of Paul Ryan will approach felonious assault. Joe Biden will leave only barely recognizable pieces of him in the veep debate and President Obama will crucify him on the stump and congressional Democrats can now officially present to their districts and states the Great Satan of pseudoconservative extremism as being in the direct employ of Jerry Lewis.

Once again Mitt Romney has buckled to the selfsame ideologues who have wrecked him from the start; he has signaled his weakness and advertised his fear; he has sentenced himself to three months of defending Medicare and Social Security's demolition; he has resigned his generalship and handed command to a reckless militant; he ... has ... lost.

Comments

[Robert Lipscomb]

About a year-and-a-half ago, I posted an honest question on this site. It was in the aftermath of the GOP House passing the Ryan budget. I wondered aloud if there was some mechanism for the GOP House to "un-pass" thier budget. My fear was that they could, and if they did that the electorate would forget their true intensions by election day.

As I recall, P.M. responded in the strongest of terms that while it might not be technically leagal to "un-pass" this budget, the GOP House would assert the authority to do anything they damn well pleased.

I was saddened by his observation.

Then, all the Republican senators voted for, but I still held little hope that it could ever be used in an election.

This year, the GOP House and the Republican senators doubled down with a second round of votes. Hope sprang forth.

A month or so ago, Obama began working this issue into his speeches. I was heartened again, but i was also afraid that Obama might begin attaching too soon before the election.

This morning, I turned the television which had a special announcement. Christmas is being held in August this year.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

[Sue Me]

I have a question. Will Ryan be running in Wisconsin for his congressional seat as well as for VP?

[ronalda]

Most of the American people really don't know who Ryan is - he is more of an inside the beltway star- so the Obama team can quickly define him. And you are correct, it is not going to be an attractive definition.

[You Don't Say]

Sue Me: I read it's too late for him to withdraw so, yes, he has to run simultaneously for both.

[japa21]

Definition is everything. It will be much easier to define Ryan than it was to define Palin. To a great degreee, she defined herself, and not in a good way. If she had come across differently it is possible, though not entirely likely, that McCain could have won in 2008.

With Ryan, it is easier. In addition, he is just like Romney in that he is a whiner. After Ryan originally presented his plan, Obama gave an address to respond to it. Ryan sat in the front row, obviously expecting some recognition for all his serious thinking.

Obama ripped the plan from head to tail and all Ryan could do was whine that Obama didn't show him proper respect. Instead of trying to defend his plan, he in effect called Obama uppity for not giving him all the credit he deserved for all his deep thinking.

Two whiners for the price of one. Get the popcorn ready.

[majii]

I shall, Japa, I shall. The games have begun with Romney cancelling all of his pre-arranged interviews for today. He had one scheduled with Gwen Ifill of NPR and with several local TV stations in VA, and they have all been cancelled. The Romney campaign hasn't responded to requests for comments.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/08/after-ryan-romney-cancels-tv-interviews-131785.html#.UCZ-vtXi91x.twitter

[Robert Lipscomb]

ALL IS LOST!!!

The Romeny campaign has released an internal talking point: "Romney will not embrace the Ryan Plan."

Romney has unilaterally un-passed the bill with a presidential candidate order.

Dmaned, DAMNED Etch-a-Sketch!!!!

[Kitty Miller]

"Alas, Sarah Palin has been replaced as America's worst vice-presidential candidate ever..."

Noptr to muss Sarah's well-earned laurels, but isn't Cheney still alive?

Sort of.

[mdblanche]

Why on Earth is Romney going with Ryan if he's not going to embrace the Ryan plan? It makes me think we've still been giving him too much credit.

[Robert Lipscomb]

@mdblanche: This is the same guy who wants to take his record as governor, his recor at bain and his income tax records off the table.

[David Ehrenstein]

Rather unfari to Jerry Lewis -- unless you're comparing Paul Ryan to "Buddy Love" in "The Nutty Professor"

[Fr33d0m]

Romney picked Ryan because he had to. He still had not gotten the base under him and they demanded Ryan. Make no mistake, he still doesn't have the base, though they are happier. Romney's slip in calling Ryan the next President is more than a slip. While they will continue running from the original Ryan budget, they are stuck with it--the base will demand its implementation.

[pluege]

this thinking pertains only to a sane society; something American society bares no resemblance to. If American society we3re sane we would never have had 2010, bush/cheney, or any of the other republican crap including reagan. Underestimating the ability of the plutocrats to fool the American people is why the country is in such dire straights. Boosting of romney fail due to his ryan pick is more of the same ole same ole bubble-think.

[Alansfmd]

Romney picked Ryan because he is still not sure he has won the Republican primary!

[Joseph]

Romney and Ryan have the Good Old Boy Media to back them up.The MSM is rooted in conservative ownership. It is time for that very fact to be told.

[Tattered to tears]

The choice was just for the alliteration of their names! Romney & Ryan in 2012 beats Obama & Biden! This choice was based on some very, very, very major deep thunkin'!

[Stephen]

Isn't it really the Koch/Adelson ticket?

[Salmo]

The Ryan pick now, weeks before the convention, is most likely intended to forestall a revolt among his delegates. Surely, the Republican elite are dismayed at their prospects, and the loss of power that would entail at this critical moment in their attempt to stem the demographic tides. I would be amazed if an active search for alternatives were not underway. Romney knows they will not kick their golden boy to the curb too.

[J Edward]

Mitt vas just following orders.

[James M. Martin]

Sorry, I cannot agree, particularly with the predictions of, e.g. the Ryan-Biden debates. Ryan may be a non-empathetic lout with crypto-fascist ideas, an oligarchical bent, and misogynistic and homophobic beliefs, but he is intelligent enough to hold his own with Biden. Plus, Romney's choice was primarily meant to curry favor of Tea Party types, and those who might have supported Ron Paul. (I'm told that Ryan is fan of Ayn Rand, who gave her name to Paul's son.) The best characterization of Ryan I've heard was Donna Brazille's comment that he represents Romney's "outsourcing of himself." Ryan can enunciate the Tea Party platform while Romney is made to appear a more moderate part of the ticket. I think they are going to give Obama a run for their money. And I am thinking the election will be as close as Bush v. Gore.

[Rich (in name only) in Reno]

Romney's use of the USS Wisconsin as a backdrop for his Ryan VP announcement brought to mind another hubristic announcement made by a Republican on a warship.

But then the ruinous eight year reign of President He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named-In-An-Election-Year never occurred in revisionist Republican history.

[Frankly Curious]

I cannot see the Ryan choice as anything but the conservative establishment seeding the ground for a 2016 Ryan run. I'm not saying they a certain that Romney will lose, but they are trying to make the best of this likely eventuality.

[Garry Walsh]

Correa the Ecudorian president said it best "America is managed: not governed. Rommney is a psycopathetric 1% scumbag who's silly platform is well understood by a plurality of americans. For the dimmer witted uncommited voters: Ryan's nomination will hammer the same point home. Obama wins to keep the protests down and allow biz as usual on wall street and with big oil and coal.
wakeup muggles!!!!!!!!!!

[Colin Day]

@Kitty Miller

Cheney wasn't a bad VP candidate, just an evil VP.

[Glen Tomkins]

Yes and no

If the Ryan pick was indeed made just to placate the Right, then yes, it's both a clear signal of, and part of the actual mechanism of, Romney' impending defeat. It's a signal that he's weak, and it's going to make him weaker.

But it's also possible that he picked Ryan because he wants to make his campaign more stridently ideological. Now, for the Rs, ideological doesn't have anything to do with actual public policy choices, so going ideological for the Rs doesn't mean that this becomes a choice election, which, yes, they lose. The other side uses fake ideology to generate fear.

That's Ryan's whole schtick, getting the electorate to panic into accepting the end of the social safety net by convincing them that there's this big deficit apocalypse looming, that jettisoning the net is the only way to avoid catastrophe. Sure, our side is going to try to attack Ryan over his infamous budget and it kill-off of Medicare, and taking on Ryan was a bad idea if all he brought with him was his budget. But what the Rs want from Ryan, if they do intend to benefit from him in their VP slot, is his deficit scare cred. That looms large with media "centrists".

But to fully take advantage of the Ryan pick, they're going to have to gin up a deficit crisis. We'll see if this theory that I have outlined is right, or ifg your theory that this was just a stupid error on their part is right, when we either see the Dongressional Rs renege on the promise to not have a budget crisis this year, vs they go like sheep to the slaughter and meekly pass a series of Continuing Resolutions for this year's budget.

[Josh]

I am increasingly concerned about Ryan's selection and how it changes the dynamics of the race. The Obama campaign was grinding the Romney campaign into dust. It was virtually unstoppable, and it culminated in Romney asking for his business record to be excluded from the campaign, which is an unthinkable idea and a complete admission of defeat (or would be at the end of a campaign).

Ryan is a nice-sounding, intelligent person, and people generally give more consideration to such people and what they say, as compared to angry sounding people, particularly when they're saying things that most people don't want.

I think Romney understood that his campaign was faltering, and that he was about to get slammed with a barrage of ads linking him to the Ryan budget. Bringing Ryan aboard could immunize him just a little from accusations about it, because he's the one at the top of the ticket, not Ryan, which we know to be a farce to some extent, but most swing voters don't know this.

At any rate, I'm concerned.

[WALT1ORO]

THERE IS NO GREATER DANGER THAN FROM A SICK AND WOUNDED ELEPHANT AND INDEED THIS ONE IS SICK TO DEATH ... SICK, SICK, SICK.

[E.A. Blair]

"I have a question. Will Ryan be running in Wisconsin for his congressional seat as well as for VP?"

Ryan will be on the ballot for his congressional seat as well as on the presidential ticket (he was already on the ballot before Romney anointed him*). When he loses the VP bid, he could still retain his seat in the house. If he loses the congressional race as well, he will be where he deserves to be - in non-incumbency.

*With crude oil rather than chrism, one presumes.