The Paul Ryan Disappointment

What could have been

Republicans are being asked to choose from a very flawed cadre of candidates. Conservatives can make a strong case against Romney (Massachusetts healthcare law) and Gingrich (baggage on steroids). This election should be ours for the taking. The one man who could have sailed to an election night victory with relative ease is Paul Ryan, and he is sitting this one out. Most conservatives agree that this election is probably the most important election of the last fifty years. I have to say that I'm deeply disappointed in Paul Ryan. His concerns are understandable: his kids, family life, his ongoing 'work to do' in Congress, etc. But he chose to get involved in public life, and he had a golden opportunity and responsibility to rescue this country from the precipice of irreparable damage.

Another assertion most conservatives agree on is that, if Obama wins reelection, the damage to the country on his watch will not be reversible. We will set out on a path of European-style socialism from which there will be no return. With all this in mind, why on earth did Paul Ryan stand down? George Washington himself genuinely did not want to run for reelection, but he knew that the survival of the country depended on it. That is why he is rightly called the American Cincinatus. Even if Ryan only agreed to serve out one term, he could have at least ensured the final termination of this national nightmare known as the Barack Obama presidency. He could have. He should have. And he didn't. Barack Obama shamelessly mischaracterized Ryan's "Path to Prosperity" with outright lies. Ryan, for his part, famously reduced Obama to a stunned silence in the sham healthcare roundtable discussions. Ryan certainly would have eviscerated Obama in the debates and on election night. He has the character of a Boy Scout, and so there would be no fear of some highly paid scandalmonger uncovering dirt on him.

Why Paul? Why??