By DICK MORRIS
Published on
DickMorris.com on October 9, 2012
The vice presidential debate gives Paul Ryan a unique opportunity to
explain Mitt Romney's economic programs and ideas in front of a massive
national audience. We will see Paul Ryan at his best. And that is
very, very good.
He is not just a vice presidential candidate. He is the author and
intellectual founder of the modern Republican agenda. There can be no
more profound and articulate a spokesman to defend and elaborate the
Romney agenda to America.
It is rare that the ideological and
substantive creator of a public policy agenda gets to weigh in during a
national public debate. Usually, intellects of his scope and force
are relegated to ghost writing and speech preparation. But now the
originator of these ideas is the candidate himself. His ideas have
shaped the entire Republican agenda and his programs for reform have
energized its ranks. Now the author, himself, will be called upon
to define and defend his programs and his ideas.
For his part, Joe Biden is a party hack called upon to defend an agenda
which he did not design and of which he likely only partially approves.
Beyond the challenges he has in public speaking, Biden is not in Ryan's
league when it comes to understanding issues and grasping the problems
America faces. The difference between a genius and a hack will be
evident in Thursday's debate.
Commentators and pundits have been fast to ask why Obama did so poorly
in the first debate. But they aren't asking the real question:
What is the impact of Romney being so good?
The reason Romney did so well is that his positions are in line with
those of the American people. By making the election about big
things like the size of government, the level of spending and the need
for government regulation, Romney -- and now Ryan -- can showcase
differences between the tickets that work decisively to the advantage of
the Republican ticket. And there is nobody better qualified or
equipped to define and discuss these differences than Paul Ryan.
By focusing on policy -- as he always does -- Ryan can craft a national
consensus that he and Romney are right and that Obama and Biden are
wrong. Without focusing on personalities, likeability, or
charisma, Ryan can make Americans understand the alternatives and the
stakes in this election. The good he can do to the ticket is
enormous. He can cement Romney's victory in the first debate and
make permanent the bond Romney established with the American people.
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