Monday, September 24, 2012

Romney Will Not Become Dependent On Paul Ryan Going Rogue

The right's meme these last few days for saving Mitt Romney (in advance of the release of "Who Lost The Election" due out Nov. 7th) is that Paul Ryan needs to go rogue (Sarah Palin), or be used more visibly (Charlie Sykes), or as ideologue-in-chief (Scott Walker).

I doubt this transformation is going to happen, because a) Mitt Romney is not a rogueish sort, and b) as the Presidential candidate - - the guy who has been running since 2007, spending millions, and enduring all the political plastic surgery it took to get where he is today - - Romney is not going to concede Ann Coulter was right all along, that he doesn't have the right Right stuff and needs to turn things over to someone 20 years younger.

Politicians and their egos are simply not constituted that way, and when you hear Romney say 'I've got a budget and that's the one we're running on,' he's letting everyone know he's the CEO of the campaign, too.

Ryan's job on the ticket, and in a Romney administration should they win, is supportive, subsumed and secondary.

If they play golf together, Ryan lets Romney win. You don't show up the boss - - in a presidential campaign, on the squash court, in a joint appearance, on a conference call, during a meeting. Period.

Romney also understands that the more Ryan is showcased, the more Ryan's radical plan for Medicare takes center-stage - - to Romney's disadvantage and to President Obama's benefit.

The same is true for the tax plan Ryan pushed that would have brought Mitt Romney's rate to below 1% - - a discussion Romney does not want or need while trying to convince the American people that 14.1% for a multi-millionaire is a fair rate for Romney to have paid last year.

For better or worse, candidates for President do not turn over the campaign to their #2.

And in a campaign stalled for a week over Romney's unforced "47%" error and damaging comments about voter dependency on government, Romney is not going to let his opponents say his ratification as POTUS is dependent on Paul Ryan.

Cross-posted at Purple Wisconsin and The Political Environment.

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