Was Paul Ryan The Right Choice For Vicepresident?

So finally Romney made his choice for vice president and he chose Paul Ryan.It is obvious he had to make this choice because his candidacy was going nowhere , the polls have had him in a statistical tie with the president for months and the notion that he would choose a Pawlenty or Portman and cruise to the presidency relying on the state of the economy has been proven to be dubious at best.And since he was put in the uncomfortable position to go for a game changer he had to chose Paul Ryan. Paul Ryan should thank Sarah Palin for his nomination, because the ghost of the Palin debacle in 2008 was looming over the republican campaign ,they couldn't risk nominating a Rubio or anyone who would not be able to face the media or the democratic apparatus .Like Romney there are no surprises to fear of in Paul Ryan's closet.But there is a profuse record of legislative activity that will provide the Democrat attack machine with enough baggage to define Ryan as an extremist right winger and part of the do nothing congress.

The Wall Street Journal has called for a shake up in the Romney campaign due to what they see as major blunders on the part of Romney's advisers and campaign management and what they see as a playing it super safe strategy and try to cruise to election day counting on the deterioration of the economy and the discontent with president Obama.It is very unlikely he will fire any campaign staff at this point but what is possible is that he will change the dynamic of the campaign by announcing the VP choice.And I'm going to go out on a limb and analyze the different possible candidates for the second place on the gop ticket for november.The names that have been mentioned are Tim Pawlenty,Bobby Jindel,Rob Portman,Marco Rubio,Mitch Daniels,Condoleeza Rice, Susana Martinez ,Chris Christie,Sarah Palin believe it or not,Jeb Bush.Of all these candidates it is my personal opinion that Romney has already decided who will be the chosen one, and only Pawlenty and Portman have a real chance of being selected.Let's go through the list.Jeb Bush has the problem of his last name which would center the campaign on the Bush presidency ,and the gop doesn't want that now.He would also have a problem with the Immigration issue where he supports amnesty or comprehensive immigration reform,also it would divide the base of the party because the more radical wing sees him as an establishment candidate and a moderate, even though Romney has moved extreme right they still don't trust him because they fear he may be an undercover moderate and since jeb bush is seen by them as a moderate they would see this as a confirmation of their suspicion.Sarah Palin is mentioned just as a courtesy to the tea party, Hannity,Limbaugh etc.Chris Christie deserves a hub all to himself and I'll do that soon, but there is no chance the Romney campaign would consider him on the ticket because it would be a ticking time bomb,or the other shoe.And I think he is too smart to embark on a candidacy that only has a fifty fifty chance of being successful .Susana Martinez is a lame attempt to pander to two groups the gop is in deep trouble with, the immigrant and hispanic community and the women voters.Condoleeza Rice would be viable and positive,it would center the campaign also on the bush era but it could be overcome because she has no baggage,is nationally respected, is probably squeaky clean, and even passes the test of being able to take the presidency if need be,the downside is limbaugh, hannity ,levin and the tea party don't want her as vp or president, and I think she is a loyal Bushist and wouldn't want the position , I don't think she wants to be Romney's vp and I think she wants to make some money in private life which she wouldn't be able to do as vp.She would be the only one with a slight chance besides Pawlenty and portman.Mitch daniels is considered a socialist by the base of the party and the talking heads.Marco Rubio was mentioned because coming out of the primaries where they spend long time in the debates bashing the immigrant community and they couldn't move to the center on immigration they needed to throw out a hispanic candidate's name out there,and besides it's always positive to have a new up and coming young political figure for the young vote and the media.Besides he is an unknown quantity .they don't need another Sarah Palin situation.Bobby Jindel is a safe choice but I don't think any body believes he is ready for prime time.So we get to Rob Portman ,and Tim Pawlenty which are both popular , acceptable to the base and the powers running the party, as well as the talking heads, both are known quantities,both are clean, have been vetted,are lower profile than Romney so they wouldn't upstage him,and are disciplined and would not stray from the campaign message,in Portman's advantage is the fact that ohio is almost a must win for Romney, if they are convinced he would deliver ohio he is in.But I think Pawlenty and Portman have a 45 to 45 percent chance and the other ten percent is for anyone but them.