Da Mitt Romney introduserte Paul Ryan på et valgmøte, sa han “welcome the next president of the United States”. Kanskje rollene skulle vert byttet om?
Paul Ryan har “stature”, han har drive og intellekt, han har fremfor alt ideer.
Han sier han lærte av sitt forbilde Jack Kemp at politikk handler om store ideer, det er slik man kommuniserer med velgerne. Ikke debatt om endeløse detaljstyringer.
Mr. Kemp “taught me that big ideas are the best politics,” Mr. Ryantold National Review. “They will always be challenged, and they will sometimes be controversial, but you have to do what you think is right, what you’re passionate about, and be a strong advocate for it. If you do that, you can shift the debate in a major way.”
Norske medier har ikke fått med seg hvem Ryan er, og hva han betyr: Han er et svar på et USA som er truet av den samme gjeldsbomben som mange land i Europa. Til forskjell fra Europa, som er paralysert, produserer USA politikere som er villig til å gjøre noe. Som ikke mener velferdsstaten er urørlig, slik at det er bedre å gå ned med flagget til topps.
Ryan er ideologisk, smart, har studert tenkere som Friedrich von Hayek.
På høyden
Ryan virker å være en meget spesiell politiker. Redaktør for Weekly Standard, William Kristol:
Mr. Kristol, who has been one of Mr. Ryan’s loudest boosters in Washington, said, “He’s a guy who, unlike 98 percent of members of Congress, can sit in a conference room or around the dinner table with 6 or 10 people from think tanks and magazines and more than hold his own in a discussion.”
Han skiller seg ut, det er ikke vanlig at politikere går sine egne veier på den måten.
“He’s unusual,” Mr. Kristol said. “The only member of Congress I can remember like that is Pat Moynihan,” he said, referring to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a New York Democrat who was known for his reaching intellect.
Arbeidsom
Aides and confidants of Mr. Ryan describe him as an earnestly interested, tactically minded policy thinker, with a deep knowledge of budget numbers and close ties with the right’s influential policy heavies.
In his 20 years in Washington, Mr. Ryan has pursued ties with two groups of thinkers in particular: policy scholars at research groups like the American Enterprise Institute and commentators like Mr. Kristol and George F. Will of The Washington Post. The reputation for wonkiness is merited, people close to Mr. Ryan said. He goes home with a stack of white papers. He calls economists when he has questions about their budget projections or ideas.
Romney ser denne gang ut til å ha gjort et valg som kan forandre utfallet. Ryan tilfører det Romney mangler: intellektuell styrke og nye ideer. Amerikanerne føler landet er i krise. De vil ha brutale spørsmål og nye svar.
Det kan gjøre Obama sårbar. Den føderale regjering er et monster som vokser og vokser, og det samme gjør statsgjelden. Det kan ikke fortsette. Ellers vil USA detronisere seg selv som supermakt. Det trengs ingen fiende utenfra.
Men alle kapitulerer over for big government, og trot get ikke lar seg forandre. Ikke Paul Ryan.
Han var på en middag for konservative policy planners i Washington i fjor. Det var øverste klasse, Alan Greenspan var der.
But that evening, none drew more attention than a relatively new member of that best-of class: Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin and now Mitt Romney’s running mate, who spoke passionately about the threat posed by the national debt and the radical actions needed to rein it in.
“I thought, ‘This is the one guy in Washington paying attention,’ ” said Niall Ferguson, the Harvard economic historian and commentator, who spent some of the rest of that evening, along with Mr. Kristol, trying to persuade Mr. Ryan to run for president.
Ryan bringer et element av ideologi inn i valget, som denne gang er akseptabel. Det er ikke Barry Goldwater. Ikke en som er for ytterliggående for USA. Det er det nye - USA etterspør nye løsninger. Er det derfor norske medier forsøker å snakke Ryan ned som en “hauk”? Fordi man instinktivt forstår at han er en reell trussel, en hvis ideer kan vinne, og det vil i tilfelle forandre samfunnet fra grunnen av.
Man kan avlese trusselen i den “vitriol” som Maureen Dowd øser ut over Ryan. Hun er redd. Hun frykter ham.
I’d been wondering how long it would take Republicans to realize that Paul Ryan is their guy.
He’s the cutest package that cruelty ever came in. He has a winning air of sad cheerfulness. He’s affable, clean cut and really cut, with the Irish altar-boy widow’s peak and droopy, winsome blue eyes and unashamed sentimentality.
Who better to rain misery upon the heads of millions of Americans?
He’s Scrooge disguised as a Pickwick, an ideologue disguised as a wonk. Not since Ronald Reagan tried to cut the budget by categorizing ketchup and relish as vegetables has the G.O.P. managed to find such an attractive vessel to mask harsh policies with a smiling face.
The Young Gun and former prom king is a fan of deer hunting, catfish noodling, heavy metal and Beethoven. He’s a great dad who says the cheese, bratwurst and beer of Wisconsin flow in his veins. He’s so easy to like — except that his politics are just a teensy bit heartless.
Conservative Elite in Capital Pay Heed to Ryan as Thinker