Ladies and Gentlemen...
In the Red State Corner, hailing from Janesville, Wis., the Gen X, fresh-faced, fearless, ferocious "intellectual leader of the Republican Party," the undisputed Grand New Superstar of the Grand Old Party... Paul "The P90X Kid" Ryan!
And, In the Blue State Corner, hailing from the mean streets of Scranton, Pa., number two in the country, but number one in our hearts, he's not afraid to say exactly what's on his mind (even if everyone else in the White House is terrified of him saying exactly what's on his mind!)... Joe "The Gaffe-Inator" Biden!
Excited for the VP Debates? I am! Excited for the presidential debates? Not so much. Here's why.
The Mitt Who Cried 47 Percent
In light of Romney's "47 Percent" Tape, the presidential debates are irrelevant. It was a fatal error for the already struggling campaign. I disagree with the popular narrative that what we learn from the tape is that Mitt Romney has genuine contempt for 47 percent of American citizens. The true takeaway is that Mitt Romney has no genuine political convictions whatsoever.
Mitt is ambition and a mirror. He will tell anyone, anything at any given time to achieve his current objective.
He told very rich people what he felt they wanted to hear: 'You are rich. You are extraordinary. You deserve to be rich. People who are not rich suffer the indignity of not being rich because they are weak.'
Of course, this is not the first time Mitt has told people what he thought they wanted to hear.
Mitt v. Mitt
On health care:
On abortion rights:
On gay rights:
On conservatism:
Even if he clobbered Obama in all three debates, he no longer has any credibility. Lincoln's adage holds up: "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."
Put a fork in Willard. He's done.
Representative Ryan, Pharmaceutical Grade
With Mitt out of the way, Ryan's moment is now. A national forum. An opponent considered by many to be a gaffe prone loose cannon ("put y'all back in chains," etc... ).
Ryan is the youthful heir to the throne of Republican power, a beltway darling considered by many to be the best spokesman for and "intellectual leader of the Republican Party." The GOP's Ringer v. The Democrat's "Gaffe Machine."
And let me be clear, I don't want a Mitt-Romnified, flip-flopping Paul Ryan. At The Oct. 11 VP debate, I want to see the real deal, unfiltered, unmitigated, 100 percent pure pharmaceutical-grade Paul Ryan. The one who said: "The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand." The one who drafted the 2010 "Roadmap For America's Future," the intellectual blueprint of the current Republican Congress.
This is Ryan's big moment to argue to the American people why the intellectual leader of the Republican Party's "Roadmap For America's Future" includes the following:
-- Social Security becoming privatized
-- Medicare becoming a voucher system
-- Converting Medicaid into block grants for states
-- Giving massive new tax cuts for the Wealthiest Americans
And for good measure, Ryan should tell the American people why in 2011 he co-sponsored the personhood amendment/Sanctity of Human Life Act, which outlaws in vitro fertilization and some forms of contraception.
And perhaps, most of all, Ryan should explain how someone who relied on Social Security Survivor Benefits, went to public high school, went to public university, worked for the government since graduation and inherited a fortune from a family business that built roads for the government is in any position to argue that government should have almost no role in the lives of American citizens.
This is your moment of truth, Representative Ryan. Your bright, hot spotlight. Time to lead. You will never have another chance like this. Persuade the American people of your vision or forever hold your peace.
Follow Jeff B. Cohen, Esq. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Jeff_B_Cohen
 |
 |
|
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Electoral Votes (270 to win) |
332 | 206 |
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 65,899,660 | 60,932,152 |
| Percent | 51.1% | 47.2% |
| Democrats* | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Current Senate | 53 | 47 |
| Seats gained or lost | +2 | -2 |
| New Total | 55 | 45 |
| Democrats | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Seats won | 201 | 234 |
Then there is how to talk to people, including the blue collar. That's who Biden grew up as and is deeply entrenched. It's in his blood. He served as a Marine in Viet Nam. This is his turf. Not Ryan's even though Ryan didn't grow up with his father, Biden grew up blue collar in Pennsylvania's hard streets. He also knows what it is like to have to raise kids on his own since he lost his first wife. He knows it's not easy.
So I give this one to Joe who knows the common man well and knows how to communicate with them. Including knowing how to talk the religious walk because he is a devout Catholic himself.
Put a fork in Willard. He's done."
Make no mistake,... Mittens is far from done. To discount him (or Ryan) is to court failure before the game is played.
A portion of the people who are voting for Romney are doing so because their pastors are telling them he is the candidate to vote for. They don't even read any news or listen to any so they don't even know he's flipped on the abortion and birth control issues. If many of them knew Romney's flip on abortion, they might not even go to the polls and vote on November 6. I have three neighbors that are totally pro-life. One won't even consider the idea of an abortion if it were to save the mother's life. So if she were to hear Romney say to keep abortion legal, she'd probably stay home on November 6.
God save us from those who won't listen to or read any news, please?
It's not like religions haven't had evil motives for controlling what people think in the past.
For starters, when Mitt says that what he did in Massachusetts should be a model for the nation, he meant that this is what each state across the nation should implement. Do it at the state level nationally and not at the federal level.
I am looking forward to this debate and will return here to read what kind of spin you guys put on how many times Biden will stick his foot in his mouth.
are won by the lying propaganda that is bought and paid for by the mega-bucks
of the Koch bros., the war criminal Karl Rove, Sheldon Adelson and other
moneyed interests.
So sez the 'Golden Rule' (and the US "Supreme" Court): "He who has the gold,rules!
"http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2012/1004/Election-2012-top-seven-super-PACs/Restore-our-Future
America. If the American people do not wake up and get involved in what
is going on in Washington very, very soon . . . . we will lose our democracy
[if we have not already!].
However, I do wish more Americans would start listening to or reading some foreign press as well. They'd be a lot better informed if they did. For one, they'd know how frightened a number of our allies are of Romney winning the election. Secondly, they'd know how well respected Obama is in the world, including by Israel's defense minister, Ehud Barak who praises Obama for being the best American president Israel has ever had towards them and insuring their security.
What's funny is all of a sudden since Netanyahu is running for re-election, he's starting to make nice with Obama so he doesn't look like he's alienated Israel's best ally -- America.
so contrary to his modus operandi.
Paul Ryan is a pischa of a Congressman.
Biden is a veteran Senator and VP.
If Paul Ryan tries to act as a peer to Joe, it's curtains.
He will get a smackdown on national TV.
Just let Paul Ryan try to pull an "It's too complicated" reply.
Joe will counter with "No, please Paul, take your time and educate us to the details of your plan".
No books or learnin' in his portfolio
Look, I am on your side, but I am not going to sugarcoat things. The President has to be Muhammad Ali in the next debate. He has to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. Otherwise, he might end up like most of Ali's opponents.
Sorry, but this is truly how I feel.
As Newt Gingrich stated in one of the Republican debates, he actually stepped forward from the podium when he said it, "How do you debates someone who lies?'
But Obama needs to bring his AAA game with him next time. I did notice he was taking a lot of notes the last time. So I do expect him to come back swinging and swinging hard.
Although I did notice him biting his lip through out the debate. Therefore, I agree with a couple of assertions that were made. That he didn't want to respond in an angry manner because he doesn't like Romney and loose his favorablity rating with the American people who like him as a nice man. He didn't have a problem debating McCain because he likes McCain and respects McCain. But evidently he doesn't like Romney.
Even though I've never met Romney, I can understand why.
Reading some of Paul Ryan's legislation and listening to him, I'm not fond of Ryan without meeting him either.
As they say, you can tell a leopard by his spots. And these two have plenty of spots.
By that I mean, when Ryan abandons a former position, Joe simply plunges forward debating that former position, followed by, "But, oh, that's not what you've been advocating ... so it's a waste of America's time to discuss this. I'd ask to make a decision between what you said previously and what you're saying tonight, but we still wouldn't know what position you'll hold tomorrow or next week or election day." Not sure how Ryan would respond to that. But I can picture the grin and chuckle from Joe, Godspeed to him!
Read the Newsweek story
33 percent of them didn't know the vice-president's name (Joe Biden) and 73 percent had no idea what the U.S. was fighting against during the Cold War.
I would bet $10,000 that over 90% of the people in the U.S. could have answered those questions over 30 years ago.