Romney may be looking to challenge Walter Mondale for poorest election performance.

And he announced the Ryan pick late on a Friday night to boot. Not exactly confidence inspiring if I was a Republican voter.

2nd WL, not going to be even close to that. Romney will win as many states as that other retard McCain did I suspect

If Obama wins I'm getting the heck out of this country. I cannot stand another Obama term.

Moderates won't win this election. They have been let down by Obama and feel uninspired by the Republicans, and will stay at home in their droves. This election will be won by mobilising the Party faithful, which is exactly what Romney is aiming for with his choice. I expect Obama to command a lead in the opinion polls all the way to voting day, but the election itself will be very close.

Invictus is doing a great job of debating so far, so I will abstain from this discussion unless he gets overwhelmed.

I will say that picking Ryan is a big surprise to me. I was sure that they would keep him (and all of the other young GOP all-stars like Rubio) in reserve for 2016. The GOP leadership knows that Romney is cannon fodder for the left.

Most RP supporters actually aren't conspiracy nuts, but thanks to the peanut gallery for trying. That stereotype is about as stupid as the "most Obama supporters just wanted to vote the first black man into the presidency" stereotype - both groups are about as visible, a significant minority and hyped up by the propagandists opposing the men in question to be a bigger deal than they are.

Tolstoy essentially has it, inane obfuscation from Santa aside. The demographic in the GOP that's growing the most is the young (18-35) demographic, which consists largely of people who don't care about what two grown men in love do with their lives or about what a woman with a small clump of undifferentiated cells in her body decides to do about them. They're worried about a huge debt that they'll have to settle one way or another, a debt that's growing annually because of imperialism overseas (and no, sorry, consistent opposition to current levels of involvement overseas is neither isolationist nor anti-Semitic; were the tables flipped and the Jews in the Palestinians' shoes, there would be opposition to propping up Palestine against Israel) but also due to a bipartisan refusal to end gridlock and have a serious debate about economic policy. (And yes, it's bipartisan. Invictus is right to point out that the Democrats have no budget plan. Santa is right to point out that the Republicans are clearly sending proposals they know will not fly. Neither stance constitutes a significant effort to end the gridlock. And no, this isn't an orchestrated conspiracy by a one-party state in disguise; if it's a "conspiracy" then it's just a conspiracy by most individuals in the Congress to stay in office by scoring cheap political points and keeping their corporate donors happy while pulling in nice salaries for themselves. I don't think that's quite the same thing as believing in Reptilians.) The old people Tea Party wing is just the same old guard revitalized because the Blue Team won big in late 2008; the fact that they're all lining up behind Romney is evidence of that.

So no, sorry, the libertarian heretics aren't all or even mostly conspiracy nuts. This smear, like the others, is a transparently obvious and cheap effort to avoid substantive engagement on the issues.

As for Romney? Should have picked Jindal. Do me and the rest of Louisiana a favor if you're gonna pick someone to energize the base, man!

The fact that Romney is still trying to win over his own base, this long after the end of the primaries, is a pretty telling sign.

I could say that the fact that Obama is trying to win back his base this long after the inauguration is pretty telling, too.

You could... if you were being dishonest.

See you later, King! Only...I'm curious where you're going to go after Obama wins the upcoming election. Canada? They're out...nationalized healthcare is big no for you, I'm sure. Western Europe? Nope. Asia? Nah. If I were you, I'd move as far away from civilization as you can get. I'm thinking Irkutsk? Western Sahara? Kyrgyzstan?

I think it is a bold and inspired choice. Ryan is a bright and decent man, and very good at explaining and defending his policy.

This election is a very important one, and Romney is signaling that we have a real choice between two different visions of America.

Kyrgyzstan is really nice this time of year. that's your best bet, King. Lots of oil money there too (I may be mixing this country up with Azerbaijan though).

But it was said earlier that moderates will stay home in droves and I believe they will as well. This is the first election I will be able to vote in, and frankly I don't think either of these two candidates are worthy of my vote. If I do end up sending in an absentee ballot from England, I'll write in Jon Huntsman before either of those two. I would have thought Huntsman would make a great VP choice to appeal to the moderates out there.

But another thing that's keeping moderates from voting is the electoral college. Whats the point of voting Republican in Massachusetts, New York, or California? None, and thats probably keeping millions of voters away from the ballot boxes.

Paul Ryan will energize the conservative base. And thus, Romney will carry Iowa and Wisconsin. Romney will probably win with gas prices rising, four straight $1000000000000+ Deficits. Oh, and don't forget Obamacare, Cap and Trade, the Border, George Soros, etc. etc. etc.

Ryan may be a bright guy...but he's a radical Republican...realistically speaking, the chances of any of his extreme policies being implemented is slim...the Democratic Senate would never allow him to get away with it.

Anyways, in a popular vote study, 65 % of voters said that they cannot connect with Romney at all, which is completely true...the fellow has no idea how to talk to the 99 %.

@SC: Attitudes like yours are exactly why nothing will be solved no matter who wins the next election. You're only interested in proving your side right and throwing mud at everyone else. Do you have any thoughts of your own regarding solutions to the current issues in the US, or do you simply read alot of other people's opinions and regurgitate it here?

How is wanting to follow the constitution radical?

"The poor have it so great! It's the rich that need a break! They work so hard to employ the poor and all the poor do is sit around and ask for more money! Who cares about money? Money doesn't make happiness. Hell, if money made happiness, I wouldn't be a politician!"

LOL

- Paul Ryan, the most mindfucked thinks-he's-a-good-guy idiot ever

The notion that Ryan is especially intelligent is the result of carefully crafted PR in the conservative echo chamber. He's seen as a "numbers guy" because he literally uses numbers and nobody on the right fact-checks them.

And I'm sorry, but no, Ryan is not going to win Iowa or Wisconsin for Romney, and Romney has very little actual mathematical chance of winning the electoral college.

Maybe I'm biased because I love Americans but I think they deserve more than Romney :-)
It's hard to believe he was the best the GOP had to offer :-(

He wasn't. But Ryan might be.

He was was quoted as saying:
"Our rights come from nature and God, not from government."
where does that put the gun debate, unless God is part of the gun lobby also.

Reality check for all you radicals:
Paul Ryan:

To the Left -- makes no difference, they would never vote for him anyway
To the Right -- A sigh of relief...a true Conservative to bolster Romney's sometimes shakey "conservative credential"
To the Middle -- a Serious guy that has offered up serious solutions, unafraid. Seriously, Paul Ryan versus that Biden....hands down, Ryan wins that horse race. He's intelligent, articulate, doesn't trip over his tongue every time he talks (ala Biden...the missing VP...) Ryan will destroy Biden in the VP debates.

*BEST* choice Romney could have made to gain support from *rational* Americans (i.e. not *most* of you...)

I think for the Obama vs Romney debates maybe Mitt can get a note from his mum saying he can't take part because he hurt his leg or he lost his plimsolls :-)

Krellin, if most of us aren't rational Americans, which is what Romney wants, then why would he choose someone to attract rational Americans? Fuck the presidency, he's got to win the election to get there. Why didn't he choose Rubio to gain at least a million Latino votes? That community has proven to be manipulative in the last few elections. Why didn't he go John McCain style and choose someone to attract female voters? I don't know how a woman would ever vote for someone who wants all birth control banned. You seem to think that Paul Ryan is rational in thinking that I should be as ultra-Catholic "pope of the 1400s" as he is. I think it speaks for itself that Obama's done things, but hey, the GOP has proven it's full of dumbasses, so four-year highs must mean that it's all because of the Republicans, right? Oh no, pizza prices are going to rise so that we can save thousands of lives a year! AHHHHH!

krellin, the idea that the Ryan choice will win over independents is a fantasy that lives only in the furthest fringes of the factless conservative world.

Trip

"Attitudes like yours are exactly why nothing will be solved no matter who wins the next election. You're only interested in proving your side right and throwing mud at everyone else. Do you have any thoughts of your own regarding solutions to the current issues in the US, or do you simply read alot of other people's opinions and regurgitate it here? "

Buddy I have plenty of ideas. Unfortunately for the republicans they do not include solving a debt crisis by giving tax breaks to the wealthy while asking everyone else to shoulder the burden. For Christ sake the military budget pays my bills but I would support a candidate who has the balls to suggest cutting the military budget. Truth is if it weren't for his 19th century economic solutions Ron Paul would probably get my vote. I am such a sheep! Just because I don't agree with your ideas doesn't mean I don't have plenty of my own. And my own ideas put me in opposition to the current Republican party.

But then again I probably shouldn't be taking posts seriously from a guy named after the retarded Palin.

President Eden:

No one even mentioned Ron Paul. Sensitive much?

KiNg Of DiPlOmAcY:

"If Obama wins I'm getting the heck out of this country. I cannot stand another Obama term. "

There's a patriotic right winger! The question is where will he go? Most worlds countries have implemented Obama's "radical" plans decades ago

And PE- No it isn't anti-semitic to be against support for Israel. I tend to think differently for someone who thinks a fucking conspiracy is afoot for zionist jews are choosing presidents behind close doors. That is the definition of Anti-Semitic, but it is also the company you keep.