Ryan Sets Tampa Ablaze, Tells Obama: We Will Not Back Down!
Representative Paul Ryan might be “a generation apart from Mitt Romney” but he proved Wednesday night in Tampa he’s more than ready to help Romney get the job done of throwing President Obama out of office. Before a crowd eager to eat up his every word, Ryan delivered what could be described as a battle cry to rile up his troops for victory. “Let’s get this done,” he said to thunderous applause.
Ryan reminded me of Shakespeare’s Henry the V’s St. Crispin Day speech, encouraging his men to battle “we few, we happy few, we band of brothers.” He told Obama neither he nor Romney would bow to his campaign of intimidation, “fear and division. Most striking about Ryan’s speech was when he threw down the gauntlet on Medicare, telling Obama neither Romney nor he are afraid to have that debate, so bring it!
“Mitt Romney and I know the difference between protecting a program, and raiding it. Ladies and gentlemen, our nation needs this debate. We want this debate. We will win this debate,” roared Ryan.
During the 25 minutes of invigorated words and standing ovations too many to count, Ryan reduced Obama to a man bereft of ideas, bloated with slogans and lacking in leadership. Ryan ticked off Obama’s record from the last three and half years as if it were one train wreck rolling into the next: $831billion failed stimulus, 23 million Americans under or unemployed, passage of the job killing Obamacare, which steals $716billion from Medicare to help pay the new entitlement, a “downgraded America” with the loss of our Triple A credit rating and $16 trillion of debt.
The Republican Vice Presidential nominee reminded us with blistering words that Obama created a bipartisan debt commission and did nothing but “dodge and demagogue the issue” while “Republicans stepped up with good-faith reforms.” After all this mess, Ryan asked, “Without a change in leadership, why would the next four years be any different from the last four years?”
The more Ryan spoke, the more Obama looked like the emperor with no clothes on. Ryan exclaimed that Romney and he would not shirk responsibility for blame, pledging to limit government growth, capping federal spending to 20% of GDP rather than choking economic growth.
Ryan’s speech created a choice between the strength, action and leadership of Romney contrasted against the puniness of Obama’s broken promises, failures and hopelessness. Stating what every American knows to be true that Obama is running from his record in his re-election campaign, Ryan said, “the failures of one administration are not a mandate for a new administration.”
In one of the many jovial moments lacing the speech, Ryan said unlike Romney’s hotel elevator music, his iPod playlist starts with AC/DC, and ends with Zeppelin. Ryan seemed to channel a Zeppelin song Wednesday because his words built a “A Stairway to Heaven” for Romney to climb to the White House. All Romney has to do is to continue the climb Thursday night and not stumble.
After Ann Romney’s speech, a woman told me in Tampa she finally feels like the White House is within reach for Romney. That’s what we’re all feeling after this week. The Republican National Convention has been one hell of show so far and Romney/Ryan is turning out to be one hell of a ticket.
Credibility is not something that we should just expect from the
“other guys.” Publishing this glowing review of Paul Ryan’s RNC Convention speech is just flat out dishonest.
While many, if not most, of the speeches were great and inspiring, Ryan’s speech has been almost universally reviewed as disengenuous at best. While Ryan’s delivery was perfect, the content of the message just didn’t add up. Making a speech to party loyalist is one thing, but on a much more grander level, Romney/Ryan must be able to attract moderates, independents and those who have not fully commited to the Romney/Ryan ticket. Making such a significant speech and then have Ryan’s credibilty (once again) so widely challenged is not good. In fact, it’s terrible. Then to have Ms. Wright make the same mistake in her review is equally disappointing.
I would rather be honest and say this was not Ryan’s best moment (knowing that many other opportunities exist) and quickly move to refine his message, strengthen his speech writing team and get us talking on the points that we clearly lead. The contents of the speech was so
I’m sure as the campaign progresses, the poilitics will get dirtier. Why would we give the opposition ammunition.
To the author, we don’t need puff pieces. Your credibilty matters too!
The lovefest of the GOP for Paul Ryan.