Why We Fight

Last week I wrote:  "If the Democrats think tonight was bad, wait until Ryan gets a hold of Biden."  What transpired last night was a bit of surprise to my prediction about how Ryan would handle the Senator from Plugaware, but Ryan's calm, solid performance was no less damning.  Ryan had only one objective last night:  reassure America that he could take over the Presidency at a moment's notice.  Biden, on the other hand, was a washed-up, class warfare hack called on to save a second-rate politician who's in over his head - Obama.

What surprised me was how Biden assisted in his own damnation.  Last night, the Vice-President was the old, rude, snobby, liberal jerk that, in my opinion is the purest form of the poison that has ruined our ability to have a discussion on anything in a rational manner.  It's all about pushyness, not policy; deceit, not discourse.  Esteemed presidential historian Larry Sabato tweeted, "Biden is treating this debate as a Sunday morning talk show. He's done them 40 yrs, knows how to dominate panel."  You could almost add the media to the mix of "old, rude, snobby, liberal jerk," but that is too obvious.

I was concerned that the debate last night would be more like two Congress guys arguing on a Sunday talk show, people would get turned off and shrug, well, so much for the revitalization of our republic we saw last week.  This kind of happened.  But the saving grace was how Ryan stood in as the calm, competent Good Republican.  This is in keeping with the R/R strategy of presenting the ticket as the adults in the room.  This demeanor is what I signed up to be a part of in the GOP thirty-two years ago.

But more than campagin brass-tacks, Ryan also demonstrated why Republicans fight.  We are the creative ones.  We are the true problem solvers, remembering government is part of the problem.  We are the ones who think freedom means responsibility, and that an extra $4300 a year for a wealthier senior's health care is reasonable.  We are the ones who empathize with and honor the widow and the veteran and who want to bring them into a community - made up of ourselves - that can help them, as opposed to government.  This is the Ryanesque order of battle.

We can do it!