We are in the first week of Sen. Paul Ryan’s joining the Romney campaign as vice presidential candidate. It has not gone entirely smoothly. There have been some “oops” moments.
Ryan criticized the Obama plan to slow the growth of Medicare by $716 billion dollars and redirect those funds that could potentially be spent in the growth of Medicare (he called this Obama’s cut to Medicare, when in fact it is not actually a cut, it is a redirection of funds from one part of the Affordable Care Act plan to another part of the Affordable Care Act). However, the Ryan budget includes the same cut of $700 billion to Medicare. And in the Ryan plan, it is an actual cut, because he does not redirect the $700 billion in the Affordable Care Act, because the Ryan plan includes the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Oops.
There was also this instance, when Ryan criticized President Obama for not saving an automotive plant. However, the plant closed in 2008, under President GW Bush. Oops.
In addition, after previously criticizing the $787 billion economic stimulus bill and denying he had ever requested stimulus funds, Paul Ryan had to acknowledge this week that his office had in fact sought the money for his Wisconsin congressional district. Oops.
It was announced on August 17 that Ryan would bring his mother with him on campaign visits targeting elderly Americans this weekend. I’m sure she’s a dear woman, but isn’t this a little bit like being the child who gets picked on at the school playground, and since the child cannot defend himself, he has to bring his mother to defend him? While this may not be considered an “oops” move, it is, well, what it is. And it is what it looks like.
We’ll see how next week goes.
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