Romney Campaign - Ryan's Boos and Ann's Gripes

This could be a premature Halloween story!
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-na-campaign-2012-20120922,0,7176447.story

Neither Congressman Ryan or Mrs. Ann Romney were properly briefed when they faced audiences last week during public statements. Ryan wasn't prepared to defend his call to eliminate "Obamacare" while Mrs. Romney did not have  a prepared response for Republican critics of avoidable campaign glitches. 

It's obvious, Ryan isn't equipped to handle criticism of his own "Ryan Plan". He had the audacity to stand before an audience of the American Association of Retired People (AARP) and call for repeal of the health care law (the Affordable Care Act) without offering any alternative.  I suspect Congressman Ryan was never prepared to defend his austere budget plan before a national audience of consumers of health care.  My impression is, Congressman Ryan is a spoiled rich kid who simply gets his own way by demanding attention.

From the Los Angeles Times:
Paul Ryan runs into trouble with AARPMitt Romney's running mate and architect of the Republican proposal to change Medicare, Paul Ryan is booed by the AARP crowd as he talks about plans to repeal President Obama's healthcare law. Just five minutes into his talk at the gathering of the powerful 50-and-older lobby, Mitt Romney's running mate — the architect of the Republican proposal to change Medicare for the next generation of seniors — was repeatedly interrupted as he criticized President Obama's healthcare law (Affordable Care Act).

"The first step to a stronger Medicare is to repeal Obamacare, because it represents the worst of both worlds," Ryan said as the crowd in New Orleans booed audibly.

"I had a feeling there'd be mixed reaction," Ryan acknowledged, pausing briefly. "So let me get into it."

When he suggested Obama was cutting $716 billion from Medicare over the next decade to pay for the costs of insuring more Americans under the healthcare law, those gathered booed. Ryan's own budget relies on using the same savings from Medicare, but he applies it to paying down the nation's deficit. Ryan also elicited a round of objections when he suggested that the healthcare law "weakens Medicare for today's seniors and puts it at risk for the next generation."

President Bill Clinton explained during his Democratic National Convention Speech:  

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/us/politics/transcript-of-bill-clintons-speech-to-the-democratic-national-convention.html?pagewanted=all

"Look, here’s what really happened. You be the judge. Here’s what really happened.  There were no cuts to benefits at all. None. What the president did was to save money by taking the recommendations of a commission of professionals to cut unwarranted subsidies to providers and insurance companies that were not making people healthier and were not necessary to get the providers to provide the service."

"And instead of raiding Medicare, he used the savings to close the doughnut hole in the Medicare drug program — and — you all got to listen carefully to this; this is really important — and to add eight years to the life of the Medicare trust fund so it is solvent till 2024. So — so President Obama and the Democrats didn’t weaken Medicare; they strengthened Medicare. Now, when Congressman Ryan looked into that TV camera and attacked President Obama’s Medicare savings as, quote, the biggest, coldest power play, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry — because that $716 billion is exactly, to the dollar, the same amount of Medicare savings that he has in his own budget. (Cheers, applause.) You got to get one thing — it takes some brass to attack a guy for doing what you did." (Laughter, cheers, applause.)

In Iowa, Mrs. Romney showed the stress of the campaign in her response to a radio interviewer.  She should have been better prepared for this question. When asked for her response to Republican critics, she demanded they "stop it!".

Excuse me, Mrs. Romney, with all due respect, you and your family asked for this debate, nobody forced you into the "ring", it was voluntary.  Using your own analogy, boxing takes an extraordinary amount of preparation and training.  You certainly were not prepared for the radio interviewers question. Rather, your defensive response indicates frustration rather than confidence.  

https://news.google.com/news/section?pz=1&cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&csid=b57fab583df61c9f&redirect=true 

"(CBS News) Amid ongoing criticism over the management of her husband's presidential campaign, Ann Romney on Thursday responded to the critics in an interview on Radio Iowa: 'Stop it. This is hard. You want to try it? Get in the ring,' she said."

Griping and booing are certainly negative indicators on the popularity Richter scale.  In fact, this public behavior is downright demoralizing for the candidates and supporters.

Moreover, this behavior is even more indicative of a poorly run national campaign.  Which, of course, is the entire problem.  If Romney cannot run a convention (which was poorly managed) and he can't stay ahead of his messaging or the stress involved in conducting an exhausting campaign, then, he certainly can't run our country.  Quite simply, Romney doesn't have what it takes to be President of the United States.  He doesn't have the right stuff.

A potential Romney presidency is downright scary! Let's not let it happen by voting to re-elect President Barack Obama.

Foiled Ryan Roll Out - What's This About "Nature" Creating Government?

Our founding fathers said absolutely nothing about nature when they signed the Constitution to create the United States of America. 

News pundits haven't critiqued Ryan's acceptance speech as Romney's vice-presidential pick, but they should. 

Here's my critique. Besides being a terrible speech, it missed the opportunity to explain to Americans why Romney-Ryan should lead our nation. It contained no vision, but ambiguous statements crafted to sound bites rather than substance.  

But where in the world did Ryan's concept of "nature" come from?

Ryan's ceremonial roll out as Romney's VP running mate was intended to be a brilliant photo-shoot with red-white-and-blue accoutrements.  Unfortunately, it was a foiled event from the beginning.  Starting with fabricated hoopla aboard Norfolk Virginia's museum ship USS Wisconsin (not an active duty ship), leading to Romney's mis-step introduction of Ryan as "the next President of the United States", dragged down by the annoying "tweet-tweet-tweet" of a nearby equipment operator that interrupted program audio . Throughout the trucked in super-hype atmosphere, the roll out missed an opportunity to explain to Americans how a Romney-Ryan potential presidency will improve our nation's economy or our human condition.  Instead, the made for TV ceremony was a collage of flags dancing to super-anthem music, while each candidate approached the speaker podium like Oscar winners at the Academy Awards. Nothing of substance was said and there were no questions taken from reporters.

Romney-Ryan hype directors staged the roll out aboard a decommissioned battle ship, but neither man ever served in the US Military.

It was Ryan's unfocused acceptance speech that most bothered me.  Ryan apparently created a new definition of America's manifest destiny.  He said American rights came from nature and God, not from government.  This is a surprising concept, especially since I didn't know nature shared booking with God. 

On the contrary, I believe God created Nature.  But, what does either have to do with Republican political leadership?  
http://americansstandwithisrael.blogspot.com/2012/08/paul-ryans-vp-acceptance-speech-video.html

So stunned was I about this wasted comment that I tweeted Congressman Ryan with a question asking who pays his US Congressional salary?  Does God or Nature sign his paycheck? Or does the US Government pay his salary?  Hello?  

Did Ryan ever read the United States Constitution? Especially the preamble: "We the people....in order to form a more perfect union..."?  The founding document says nothing about God or Nature. http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/preamble

Furthermore, I'm mystified how Ryan, a Roman Catholic, conjured up a ridiculously confusing "nature" and "God" comment? 

God created the earth, not the United States.  This confusing concept might be Mormon teaching, I sincerely don't know. In fact, I do know, for sure, it's not Roman Catholic teaching. If this "creation by nature" concept is Ryan's opinion, then he's wrong.

My fervent prayer is that American voters see how flawed Romney-Ryan are as political candidates.  Our nation needs visionary and progressive leadership, supporting policies rooted in morality, consistent with Capitalist economic theory, whereby  wealth is shared through equitable taxation.

During the past four years, right wing extremists have railed on President Obama about his religion and his birth certificate.  Where are these critics when a Vice-Presidential candidate is re-creating the words in the US Constitution?

Ryan's foiled roll out begins the presidential campaign in earnest, but both GOP leaders are showing themselves to be regressive thinkers. Sadly, Ryan blew a rare chance to win America's hearts. Instead, he's given creationists something to ponder.