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Justin Sullivan / Getty Images file
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney talks with senior adviser Beth Myers aboard his campaign plane before taking off Aug. 2 in Centennial, Colo.
WASHINGTON & JANESVILLE, Wisc. -- Mitt Romney's months-long vice presidential selection process came to a close one week ago in a dining room in suburban Massachusetts, where Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, dressed casually to avoid detection during commercial flights, told Romney he would accept the GOP candidate's offer to join the ticket.
For the Romney campaign, Ryan's meeting with Romney, in the dining room of chief vetter Beth Myers last Sunday, was the result of a process that began in April, and wound through several secrecy-cloaked months without major leaks before culminating in Saturday's rollout in Virginia.
Even the rollout was an example of both a flawlessly executed bit of secrecy and stagecraft and improvisation when events did not go as the campaign planned. Myers told reporters the Romney campaign originally planned to announce the pick Friday in New Hampshire, but with Ryan attending a memorial service for the victims of a shooting at a Sikh temple in his district, the plans were changed to Saturday.
All of this information was a closely guarded secret until Saturday night, when Myers, in charge of VP vetting, offered reporters a glimpse inside the process.
The Romney campaign kept its running mate a secret until Saturday morning, a strategy that yielded big fundraising dollars. NBC's Pete Alexander reports.
The vet
“I had one directive: The candidates must be qualified to take office on day one,” Myers said of her appointment to head the VP search on April 16. “Around May 1 we created a short list.”
Throughout the process, Myers said, one thing was clear: "This was Mitt’s decision.”
Myers chose not to disclose a full list of who was considered for the No. 2 spot, but many of the names have leaked out: former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio were vetted, as were Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. Portman and McDonnell received calls Friday night to inform them they were not the pick.
Myers told reporters she established a system, approved by Romney, to quietly vet candidates after asking if they were interested in the job. A team of lawyers worked with Myers in a secure room of the campaign's Boston headquarters. No copies were made of any documents, and everything was locked in a safe when the team left at night. No documents were allowed out of the room.
Romney tries to define Ryan before Democrats do
Included in the data collected by Myers and her team: congressional voting records, an exhaustive questionnaire and "several years" of tax returns -- she did not say how many. Romney has come under fire from Democrats and many in the media for his refusal to release more than two years of returns, despite reports he released several times that amount when he himself was vetted as a possible ticket-mate for John McCain in 2008.
Throughout May and June, Myers and her team pored over data, presenting information to Romney, who discussed his thinking with a small group of advisers, including the campaign manager, senior strategists and close aides. When the Romney campaign convened a retreat for top donors with major GOP figures in Utah in mid-June, Myers met with several contenders to clear up lingering issues and ask follow-up questions.
“He [Romney] talked with a lot of people,” Myers said, adding that she felt it was important to keep her own opinion to herself. “I did not share my thoughts on who I thought it should be”
The vetting of Ryan – or at least when he began to know about it -- lasted nearly six weeks. Just days before the June 5 gubernatorial recall election in the Badger State, the congressman’s staff started compiling hundreds of pages of documents to submit to the Romney campaign, such as public statements and op-ed pieces.
Ryan never let on publicly whether he was being vetted or not throughout the summer months. He always dismissed questions surrounding his VP possibilities. That, sources say, played into Ryan’s strategy: keep expectations of VP possibilities incredibly low and just be a team player.
On July 2, the day she was famously photographed in Wolfeboro, N.H., meeting with Romney on his back porch, Myers presented her boss with completed dossiers on the final candidates for him to absorb.
On Aug. 1, when Romney returned from his week-long foreign trip, he was ready to make a decision. He met with Myers in her office in Boston and placed a call to Ryan. Could they meet in person for a discussion?
The offer
By August, reporters had begun to whittle down the short list of possible candidates and to keep a close eye on the top contenders. Despite this, on Aug. 5, Ryan quietly slipped out of his home and, dressed casually and wearing a hat and sunglasses to obscure his appearance, drove to Chicago, where he boarded a flight to Hartford, Conn.
There, an unlikely emissary was waiting for him in a rented car: Myers’ 19-year-old son, Curt, who picked Ryan up and drove him from Hartford to Brookline, Mass., and his mother’s dining room, where Romney was waiting, having been driven down from Wolfeboro that morning by Secret Service agents.
Obama gets his target with pick of Ryan
Romney described the meeting to reporters traveling aboard his plane Saturday night.
"We talked about the campaign and how it would be run and talked about how we’d work together if we get the White House," Romney said. "What the relationship would be, how we’d interact and be involved in important decisions. But we talked about our families, what this meant for them, what kind of challenge it meant -- those are the topics we discussed.”
Ryan also met with a handful of top Romney staffers, and when Romney officially extended the offer to join the ticket, the seven-term congressman was thrilled, if not surprised.
"By the time we met in person I kind of knew it was going to happen, and I was very humbled," Ryan told reporters Saturday. "It was the biggest honor I’ve ever been given in my life.... I Love this country dearly, and I feel we have an opportunity to fix things once and for all."
When the shooting happened Sunday at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisc., Ryan handled the fallout from Massachusetts, never telling his staff exactly where he was. If it wasn’t for the unforeseen tragedy that took place in Wisconsin’s 1st District that day, Ryan’s staff likely never would have known their boss was out of state at all. He flew back that night, undetected.
The House Budget Committee chairman kept his schedule intact for the entire week leading up to the announcement including spending three days filming commercials for his congressional re-election campaign. Ryan never let out his secret to his campaign staffers, who were working 12-hour days with him on the ads. They will begin airing next month in his district – in Wisconsin, you can appear on the ballot as both a vice presidential candidate and running for a congressional seat.
Ryan spent the middle of the week traveling in northwest Wisconsin stumping for local candidates – all along knowing his life was about to change. But these long car rides gave him plenty of private time to speak with his longtime friend and chief of staff about his new role.
Escape from Wisconsin
Keeping the Romney/Ryan pairing a secret for the next week proved to be an Olympian challenge. A boomlet of support for the Ryan candidacy drew increased scrutiny, and reporters such as NBC's Alex Moe were staking out Ryan's home, chatting with the candidate and his family and keeping tabs on their movement, lest they slip away again undetected.
Myers said she thought Moe might be close to solving the mystery.
“She did a great job,” Myers said of Moe, whom Ryan likened to a family member in a recent interview. “We knew we had to be very diligent in throwing her off the scent.”
And diligent they were, moving Ryan's family undetected while he was attending the Friday memorial service. Ryan told reporters earlier in the week his family was planning a trip to Colorado, departing on Saturday, so packing seemed unremarkable.
Early Friday morning, the congressman’s trusted chief of staff, Andy Speth, arrived in his red pickup to take Ryan to the memorial service, with reporters in tow.
Ryan returned home in the early afternoon and went inside through the back as he was locked out of his side door, telling reporters who stood watching on the sidewalk he must have forgotten his keys. That would be the last time anyone saw the congressman in Janesville, because sometime after 3 p.m., he exited his home into the back yard (where reporters couldn’t see) and went into the woods.
"I grew up in those woods. The house I grew up in backs up to the house I live in, so I know those woods like the back of my hand. So it wasn’t too hard to walk through them. So I just went out my back door, went through the gully in the woods I grew up playing in. I walked past the tree that has my own tree fort I built back there," Ryan said.
Escaping via the woods isn’t something new for Ryan, either. It is a tactic the congressman has been forced to use before due to protesters in front of his house. Ryan is used to cutting through the bushes.
Waiting a couple of hundred yards on the other side: Speth, who took Ryan and his family to an airport in neighboring Illinois, where a private plane would whisk them to Virginia.
Back at the house, Ryan's sister-in-law, intentionally left behind, turned out the lights just as news was beginning to leak that Romney would announce his pick Saturday, turning the eyes of the world on the town of Janesville.
When Moe knocked on the congressman's door that night, after NBC News confirmed he would be the vice presidential nominee, no one answered. Ryan was already hundreds of miles away.
The rollout
While Ryan was on his way to meet once again with the man at the top of the ticket, Romney was busy on the phones, informing other candidates from the short list that they had not been chosen. Portman and McDonnell received calls that night and may not have been the only ones. Romney had already called Pawlenty, a tireless advocate for the nominee and a staff favorite, on Monday.
When the Ryans landed in Elizabeth City, N.C., an hour south of Norfolk, they were whisked away to a Fairfield Inn hotel -- again, by Myers' son Curt -- and met by a handful of top Romney aides. The family ate takeout from Applebee’s with Myers, and worked on speech prep. Then, Myers said, as the campaign sent out an advisory telling the world that Romney would announce his choice the next morning, Myers turned off her phone.
Ryan placed a phone call to his mother around midnight to let her know he was in fact being tapped as Romney’s right-hand man. He called his siblings the next morning just hours before he gave the biggest speech of his life.
Ryan and his family loaded into two cars for Norfolk first thing Saturday and were driven to the USS Wisconsin, the site of the announcement. The rest is history.
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To: Mitt Romney
From: Democratic National Committee
The entire Democratic National Committee thanks you for choosing Representative Paul Ryan as your Vice presidential candidate. This assures a victory in Florida for President Obama resulting in more than the 270 electoral college voted needed for his reelection as President. We can now spend more of our resources in Ohio, Colorado, Virginia, North Carolina and Nevada to insure an even larger victory.
Charlie....time to take the short bus back to REALITYVILLE. Delusional much...?
No WtieSxo -- the delusional people are the ones thinking Paul Ryan helps Romney. Sure -- the tea bag people love it but you can't win if all you have are tea baggers. Look at the numbers -- even Fox has Romney down by 9 points. Look at it state by state. If Romney loses Florida, Obama wins. That's not delusional -- that's reality. You may not like it but it's still reality.
Romney had a choice to pick a running mate who would help him win the election. He instead chose a running mate who is smart and tough and who can best help him fix the mess this country is in. Maybe it was not the correct choice, but it shows that his priorities are our country first; politics last. Just the opposite of Obama.
Obama knows he's going to lose. That is why he has chosen the route of dishonesty and demonization. Ryan was a great choice. It is only in the uneducated echo chambers of the left that the message Paul Ryan is preaching is not paid attention to. Real Americans get it.
That doesn't include Obama.
At least Ryan has offered a plan to reduce the deficit, fix medicare and social security and balance the budget. What have the Dems offered? Nothing! They would rather sit back and just criticize others and collect that free cheese. The democrats under Harry Reid haven't even passed a budget in over three years.
At least Ryan has offered a plan to reduce the deficit
A "plan" that has no chance of going anywhere is not a plan. It's like planing to drop 10 pounds by eating a quart if ice cream every day. Wont happen!!
Frank--Sadly, that is true. what is REALLY sad is that the party that throws around the word 'racist' at anyone who doesn't agree with them 100%, EVEN if that person voted for them, (me) is also the one that is LEAST likely to consider anything BUT race in this election.
Ryan's humble beginnings are 'as humble' as Obama's but you don't hear anyone calling his 'rise' noble.
As far as I can tell, his ONLY source of income is his salary, he LIVES in his office in DC during the week, and yet he is labeled with being a 1%er.
Charlie--wait a minute--a plan that one party supports while the other does not is NOT a plan?
Chances are, Harry Reid is going to no longer hold the scepter in the Senate after this election, regardless of who is pres.
AND THEN they are going to be whining about compromise.
NO dem has offered any compromise to Ryan's plan.
That is rt mike seventeen new taxes with executive caveat possibility of many more. Direct subversion of the will of the people. not for long though.
R&R will be driving the car soon.
vote
Just as Bush put us in a ditch - we not give them the keys to do it again
Thanks but NO Thanks
Rick--sorry, but Bush was nothing like Romney. Unless you would like to also claim that Obama is a philanderer and cheat like Clinton (both of whom I voted for, BTW) or a rich snob who evades property taxes on his $75 million yacht like Kerry (who I also voted for) or builds a gigantor mansion and flies around the country in his private plane while preaching global warming like Gore (who I also voted for) or like Carter, well, need I say more about his ineffectual presidency, who I ALSO voted for.
Sorry, but Bush was an idiot, who got elected the first time because the country was tired of the Clinton drama, and re-elected because the country was unwilling to change in the middle of two wars, especially to a Kerry who ditthered through the election. I didn't VOTE for Bush. I DID vote ONE time for his father, because I did not think Michael Dukakis would be a good president.
Obama, whom I had great hopes for, has PROVEN to me that he is not a good president. Not really a bad president, but NOT a good one either.
And by the way, Rick--the DEMS have had SIX (6!) years to introduce a bill to raise taxes JUST to pay for the two unfunded wars. Where exactly is THAT legislation?
Say it ain’t so. Our most treasured
corporations are gaming the system making Americans suffer economically for
their selfish profit gains by buying the elections. Now they want to bring
monies back without repercussion. This is after they have practically destroyed
our employment base by hoarding cash. We always knew corporations never really
cared for its own communities and these reports keep dribbling out on more tax
cheaters. I suppose we could simplify the tax penalties by laws that will start
charging these corporations for tax invasion. After all they have been deemed
people by the Supreme Court so IRS, SEC and other enforcement authorities that should
have jurisdiction and probable cause to produce indictments on each suspected corporate
governance boards. Usually these are real people that have approved these
schemes such as CEO, CFO, Treasurers, Lawyers and others having direct
knowledge. They can force their hands by freezing their accounts just as they
do with tax invaders, terrorist, organized crimes by charging through the RICO
Act. I bet they start paying taxes or forfeit through international laws by
listing them as tax evaders. The countries that are harboring these cheats
should enforce taxes on them or be subject to the same charges. I believe the
truth is exposing politicians and lobbyist deceptive schemes using tax
loopholes are being uncovered and full investigations are warranted. No wonder
they’re pouring so much money into Romney’s campaign to buy the elections. I
suppose a compromise can be attained now. The corporations have put themselves
in everyone’s cross hairs for money and countries outside of the United States
may take their money and without US support be screwed.
WTFHAPPENED
Rick, sorry, but you don't get to play the citizens' United card without ALSO acknowledging that it ALSO gave 'personhood' to LABOR unions, who are pouring money into Obama's campaign.
And big BIZ donors are just as likely to donate heavily to Obama too, while Unions are NOT going to be giving to Romney.
Unless you really believe that all big businesses are owned by PUBS? Really?
Just off the top of my head, what about Berkshire Hathaway and Microsoft?
And for your info, most CORPS donate to BOTH candidates in EVERY election.
Look it up.
they want whichever side wins to be grateful.
Sadly you miss the point
How can anyone not love a guy named Charlie
Even if he is employed by OWS rolling donkey fecal into spit balls
Don't you have a flag desecration in zucoiti to attend charles
!YOU WILL HAVE SOME TEA too believe IN On November 7th
VOTE R&R
With all this tit for tat going on no wonder
so many people are disillusioned that the Republican policies are designed to
help the mess they themselves created. The problem for Romney, Republican
Congress people, Super Pacs, Anonymous donors and Republican Governors is the
modern devices such as videos recordings and recorded votes. It is true
President Obama promise more than his butt could cash by naively believing
these elected representatives would do the right thing for America and
Americans. As I see it the Democrats will only need to show how their
counterparts have voted against any and everything that may or may not helped
because of their undermining principles to kill, misrepresent, lie, distort,
sabotage, threaten, defund, and flat out screw up in order to make the
President look bad to reclaim control of power. They have exhibited childish
behavior in many of their actions. This of course played into the narrative of
the established haters of unification and what is/was in the best interest of
the country. The Democrats only need to show the videos of them (all of them)
pledging from day one to refuse to help by disrespecting the office of the
Presidency by making up lies while all the time passing state mandates and
legislation by strong-armed law tactics against women, children, the elderly,
job creation, healthcare, the less fortunate or anything to further degrade the
American way of life in support of “Big Business” to rule the country. They can
use excerpts from the Bush administration to present day where undoubtedly the entire
picture will paint the truth. Enough will be said with the proof being in the
pudding and this is what is being cooked up by the re-vamped policies of the
Republicans and why. They are hoping for low voter turn-out in November (hoping
most are disgusted and not vote), but as their past calculations have caused
this mess, many have learned from it. Do not count the democratic process out
just yet Romney & Company. Free America from this MADNESS.
WTFHAPPENED
Big secret? He's been on the short list almost from the start. "Full of sound and fury; signifying nothing."
We were doing fine till a liberal bunch of car jackers jumped in and grabbed the wheel an floored the debt accelerator in 2006
btw The Bush administration warned the impending housing bubble was going to burst However was vehemently denied and ignored so stfu abt bush and live in the now p RICK
VOTE R&R
What was the Bush Administration's "warning" about the housing bubble bursting?
The subprime mortgage boom was between 2003 and 2006. Some subprime mortgages had been issued earlier and some of those had been made under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) passed under Carter and strengthened in 1999, under Clinton.
But the real surge in subprimes began in 2003, largely stimulated by a Bush program announced in June 2002, in Atlanta, to develop, build and sell 5.5 million new homes for low income, minorities, ovder the next ten years, as part of his "Ownership" philosophy. Another major stimulus was the development of new "financial instruments" by Wasll Street investment banks to both securitize mortgage loans, using new risk management tools, that allowed for different levels of risk to be "purchased" by dividing the loans into "traunches," coupled to new derivative instruments called credit default swaps, which allowed the investor to "insure" the securitized mortgages purchased.
These new financial instruments were in great demand, because of other banking regulation changes, which allowed virtually unlimited leverage using what was normally thought of as extremely low-risk real estate investments.
As demand increased, lending standards dropped far below anything ever envisioned by the CRA, not to comply with a govdernment banking regulation, but to fulfill gthe demand, for high yield investments, with what was thought to be a low-risk of default.
Numeropus books and published studies have "debunked" the CRA, Barney and Chris "cause and effect" linkage between the subprime crisis (which was only the trigger to a wider recession) and the economic collapse.
In fact, there is NO RESPONSIBLE study linking the two.
One of the best books on what actually happened c omes from Bush Secretary of the Treasury, and former CEO of Goldman Sachs, Henry M. Paulson, Jr., who lived through it and made key decisions (and admitted mistakes) during the build-up to the crash and the aftermath.
This is from:
Mr Accountability-2446281
I’ve also learned: Don’t argue with an
idiot, they will pull you down to their level and beat you with experience.
How so very true. You can replace “idiot”
with the new Republicans/Conservatives
Heartless corporate puppets. They can spend
billions on undeclared wars that have killed many across the globe but cannot
and will not help their own countrymen with decent healthcare or JOBS.
This one-trick pony of blaming
the President for not turning the economy of the country around when every
Republican, Tea party, Corporations and Democrats in name only goes so far when
his stated belief is allegiance to rehashed Republican policies. He will have
to explain his business models for improving the economy, his foreign policies,
immigration remedies, outsourcing jobs policies, social equalities, law reforms
and regulations discovered that put us in this mess. It’s time for one-on-one
debates where these questioned will be asked and all the people can hear and
see. Most are tired and weary of the falsehoods and blame games especially in
these bad economic conditions. Here’s what we do know the President has tried
different things but were put down by Republicans protectionism of banks, wars,
corporation influence offering the same trickle down policies that have not worked
since introduced by Reagan. Yes the President have made mistakes by the hope
and change message and forgetting he’s at war with half Americans despising his
very existence vowing to make him a one term President. We know they did not
and still do not have the American people economic stability on the top of
their agenda that in suffering using to sway voters. The what ifs will start
and all of us must make a decision. Mitt, step up your game and give us a
viable choice that will work for all Americans (not your chosen few).
WTFHAPPENED
Voter fraud.
Sorry, Rick, but the DEMS controlled the congress from 2006 on, and Obama had carte Blanche for his first year (and partial carte Blanche even after Kennedy died, as his successor voted for many DEM backed bills.
Here's what we do DO know--the president has tried SOME things, poorly, and those same things ALSO did not get us out of the GREAT depression.
And the obstructionism is on the part of the DEMS--Harry Reid refuses EVEN in a house where his party holds (temporarily, in my belief) the majority, to even bring House proposals to the floor for debate.
and the economic STABILITY of the American people does NOT lie in passing down TRILLIONS of dollars of debt to our children and grandkids. No matter how you cut it, the hand outs have to at least SLOW down.
And BTW, Rick--I was AMUSED by your last line: "...viable choice that will work for ALL Americans (not your chosen few."
Then I'm SURE you will be writing and e-mailing Obama, Holder and Napolitano about all the favoritism they are showing to ILLEGAL, NON Americans.
MY kids all had to pay out of state tuition. My family had to come here legally. MY family has to pay all of its taxes, and not work under the table.
Why then, is Obama giving 'favored status' to ILLEGALS? Oh, I guess THAT 'chosen few' is a lock to vote DEM, right?
And PS--if Romney is elected, I will be JUST as 'in his face' on the issue of illegals. They are NOT Americans.
a) any long-term immigration solution, regarding illegals already here, is the purview of Congress.
b) The "chosen few" can't vote. They aren't U.S. citizens. The prosecutorial decision at least offers them an incentive to register for a work permit and presumably puts some pressure on the underground economy, to hire them at minimum wage, actually making U.S. citizen hiring competitive.
And, finally, although I occasionally find myself guilty of it as well, they ARE Americans...just from elsewhere in the Americas...North or South.
Can not wait till 2moro to hear & see the raging b/s the left will have to bugle about, Ryan. I suppose we will see Gmaw thrown off the top of a station wagon soon. lol
Maybe a hit an run priority superpac commercial on a disabled person in a wheelchair crossing the street by a van driven by a Paul Ryan look a like ...
Nothing but gutter style politics from now till election day
btw that is the only poll that matters
So, vote
Bruce--reduced to slamming persons for their looks?
Better not google Jar Jar Binks.
Oh just the whole need to reign in fannie an freddie but see, you missed that cause the media was to busy tearing GW a new one on every thing You dem were screeching about at the time so just look it up i don't do home work for others
I just like to poke you with a sharp splintery stick dipped in ostrich syndrome guano... LOL roll eyes rt---->
VOTE R&R
Freddie and Fannie had a bunch of problems, which made the Bush Administration unhappy with them. Underwriting subprime mortgages wasn't one of them.
They were conc erned about accounting scandals (which were unrelated to their investment portfolios), undue lobbying influence with Congress (with some justification, but they lobbied Republicans as well as Democrats), and a general uneasiness with the "moral hazard" posed by such large companies possessing an "implied" U.S. Government guarantee against failure. But, that was more "general economic philosophy" than specific unease with subprime loans.
As a result, the GSEs came to the subprime disaster rather late...2005 - 2007, after the housing market had begun to fall (late 2006), but before the impact of foreclosures and defaults hit the economy. And, this late entry into the subprime market came from three primary sources: invesgtors, still seeking higher returns, the Bush Administration itself, to participate MORE in subprime underwriting, and savvy banks, beginning to be wary of the situation and seeking to off-load investments to the GSEs.
In sum...by the time Democrats actually got into the Committee Chairmanships, in January 2007, the die had been pretty much cast...and investment in subprime mortgages was already falling...i.e. too late to stop the coming crash.
Oh good, super bruce finally rolled out of his futon did you pour some bleach down the sump pump to combat the smell of your urine downstairs brbee
weellll were waiting for your freshly piled up nuggets of ows wisdom
foot tapping - - - - - - eyes rolling to---->rt what is that on your finger? charger sauce lmao I get it bee n busy
VOTE R&R
let me explain;
roadrunner supbird thinks i am a female and he gets a erection when he dream of how connie is ripping him a new rectum with the strap on he bought her.!. don't be shy gtx were all friends here no need to have a coverup bee honest about how you feel towards me bee 4ward .!.
vote
Hobbs, perhaps you do not recall that when the Wright story hit the airwaves, Obama immeditately made a speach and denounced Rev Wright's sermon. I am sure like most folks who attend church, he was not present for every sermon their pastor presents and proboably was not present for that one. Now as far as grades from college, no one has ever requested transcripts from any prior President - not from Bush who proclaimed to be a C student, not from Clinton who was the Rhodes scholar and not Bush 1 who went to Ivey leagues schools also. Obama has an undergraduate degree from Columbia and a JD from Harvard. Romney has an undergraduate degree from University of Utah (I think) and two graduate degrees from Harvard - one in business and a JD. And Romney has made a comment that Obama has spent too much time at Harvard, where he spent exactly the same amount of time if not more at Harvard. Obama has written 2 or 3 books describing his life and his relationship with his family. They have been in publication since at least 2007. Romney has published none that I know of. Obama published 10 years of tax returns in 2008 and every tax return he has filed since. Romney has published 2010 and a estimate of 2011. Romney's tax returns are large in volume and complex. It is doubtful that an ordinary citizen could pick it up and understand its contents. Releasing other tax returns at the last minute will give the public no new information due to the fact that analysis will take days. My problem is that Romney has not been very forthcoming with who he is. He is a businessman- so what does that mean? He's made a lot of money? And how did you make all this money? He's a charitible guy. And how am I to know this? He will do the right thing as President. And what exactly is this right thing he plans to do - reduce taxes on the wealthy, reduce spending by the government, reduce regulations. And it will all be revenue neutral, which means the deficit will not be affected what so ever! And what regulations do you want to get rid of? Those that protect our water, our air, our saftey? How about minimun wage - do we do away with that one? All of this makes me extremely uneasy...to vote for Romney is like buying a pig in a poke. You have no idea what's in the poke. Since he as declined to do any real disclosure, I am not inclined to believe anything he says. I realize that Obama and Romney are politicans and that they promise things that they cannot deliever. However those promises tell me what direction he wishes to take this country and what is important to them. And if they don't achieve all they wish, well that's to be expected. But did they travel the road they presented in their campaign? With Obama - the answer is yes - he turned the massive job losses to modest job gains. He stablized the financial sector to where they are now making record profits. The stock market is now back to pre-2007 levels. In the crash of 1929, it was 1952 before the stock market reached pre-1929 levels. And government spending including the stimulus and the two wars have been absolutely level for the three years he has been in office and they have been slighlty less than Bush's 2007 year. He has reduce payroll taxes 2% for everyone who gets a W-2. Remember Obama cannot spend a penny that has not been authorized by Congress. So there has been no overall budget presented to the President for signture - but he has submitted one to Congress every year. Congress still manages to authorize the spending each and every year without benefit of a budget agreement. So how do you get a Republican Congress to put forth some real fixes to our nations problems when their mantra is "whatever Obama is for, we are against even if we were for it yesterday, even if we believe deep in our hearts this is good for the nation". The Congress and the President are equal branches of the government - and if one adopts a "no compromise stratagy", then nothing will happen - good, bad or indifferent. Our problem is..we have no statesmen in the government, we have politicans. And with a choice between Obama and Romney as to who is for the people - there is no choice but Obama. And we need a Congress which will vote for the people not their own pocketbooks.
Stanford. I think Romney got his undergraduate degree from Stanford University, then went into a combined MBA/JD program at Harvard.
Actually, very few U.S. Presidents have ever had extensive business experience. Harding, I believe, in publishing. Hoover in mining. And, Bush Junior in baseball.
Might want to consider that one Harvard MBA is enough (the other was Bush Junior, of course).
Martha--actually, people HAVE asked to see Obama's records. JUST as they did (unsuccessfully also) SHRUB's. so is Obama wanting to be EVEN MORE like Bush?
and BTW--I don't CARE about his 'transcripts', I want to know how he got IN to those schools, whether he got affirmative action status, scholarships, etc. But MOSTLY I would like to read his Thesis paper for his degrees, to see how his politics and policies have evolved.
And remember, Hillary ALSO denied the public access to HER papers, but then, that was because in those days (pre-Bill) she was a REPUBLICAN, and her paper reflected that, and could be used against her.
But of course, as a DEM she could NEVER be accused as a 'flip flopper'.
And sorry, but the DEMS have been JUST as non-compromising as the Pubs have. The difference to me is that you seem to believe that the one who offers the most 'hand outs' is the one who is for the 'people', while I believe that the one who wants to increase America's economy is.
In the long run, you run out of OTHER people's money. And the 'other people's money we are running out of is My CHILDREN's money. Have you not paid attention to what is going on in Europe? For generations, their governments have gotten elected by promising more and more 'bennies' to the people. Now not only is all the money gone, all the CREDIT is gone, since there is no conceivable way the loans can ever be paid back. And the 'people' are mad, because their gravy train has dried up, and they never THOUGHT one minute about saving for their own future. Sound familiar?
PS--you DO know that ROMNEY refused to take a salary as Gov. Of Mass?
Because he didn't need it. Romney could live forever on the money he has invested now, and still be wealthy, and leave his kids wealthy too.
But Obama will BECOME a multi millionaire by virtue of having been president.
The German model isn't bad. And, at the moment, they are "carrying" a lot of the rest of the European Union.
They finance their social programs largely through taxes and export surpluses. We haven't run an annual export surplus in years and years...and fundamentally, that means more money going out than coming in.
And, I am sure Massachusetts would have liked Romney to have taken the salary if it would have meant placing better than 47th in state job creation.
If you are a new legal immigrant, welcome to the country. I strongly recommend, however, that you devote more reading to our history, politics, and economy.
Good God, is there anyone out there save some Romney a$$kissers who gives a $hit about how they kept the VP choice a secret?
Not really an substantive issue just a sounding board designed to piss of liberals like you gem twin
geminizing--you mean as opposed to Obama leaking Usama's take down to Hollywood buddies? Bush leakiing Valerie Plame's ID?
Sorry, but I think the PRESS is a cancer, and anything that can be done to avoid their continual 'speculation' (as opposed to FACT FINDING, which USED to be their job, NOT camping out on someone's door step in attack mode.) is great.
"Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney introduced his choice as running mate, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan"
It should say "Presumptuous presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney..."
So I was wrong all these weeks when I predicted Romney would choose Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. I admit it. I gave Mitt Romney more political credit than he obviously deserves. But, I was NOT wrong about one thing…
1. Ryan is from Wisconsin and there is no way on God's Green Earth Ryan being Veep will help his ticket take Wisconsin's Electoral votes away from Obama.
2. Ryan does not help Romney win any other votes in the Mid-West, which is solidly for Obama/Biden.
3. Ryan's Budget angered Baby Boomers and there are still more of that age group in the voting ranks than any other.
4. The state of Virginia was still in-play, and could have possibly swung to Romney with McDonnell. Not very likely, but possible. At least more likely than Wisconsin or the Mid-West with Ryan.
5. McDonnell on the ticket could have helped shore-up Republican base votes in the South, but Ryan is less effective there being from The Rust Belt.
and
6. Announcing this momentous decision early Saturday morning when most of America is still asleep. Who's brilliant idea was that? (Romney's?)
is when Romney goes to the GOP Convention, with his Veep running-mate Ryan and The GOP asks Romney to step down so they can nominate someone who actually has a chance to win.
?
The title of this article, presumably furnished by the Romney campaign staff, reads like a chapter from "Dick and Jane." The biggest secrets in American politics today, as everyone knows, are the Romney tax returns.
I would disagree. The biggest secret is whom created the Obnoxious Bully Aggressively Misleading America (Obama). Who forged his birth certificate and college records? The "Bully" is the "Trojan Horse" put in place to destroy America by some very powerful world leaders. Who is behind the lie (Obama) that is the real secret.
Rothschild's? Fu Man Ch?
Yes - Ryan pick is a good choice
for the GOP for the simple reason it highlights 2 money misers intent on using
profit margins over people. The other side wanting to do the right thing by consensus
with measured equality. The contrast is best described in their historical
accomplishments which be exposed to all Americans. It can be construed as
Bush/Chaney 2.0 - Romney=Chaney Business and Ryan=Bush Smart Stupid. Neither
have a diverse portfolio with other important issues Americans face. The
dumbing down of America has become a weight on thinking Americans well past
talking points. That good ole boy image gave us Bush and we are in states of
denial because of party loyalty. People will not forget those same policies
re-introduced because of previous GOP failed policies that are attempting to
paint everything on President Obama. Fool me once…
WTFHAPPENED
Ryan's friends the Kochs' made it so.
I did not have sex with that woman! WJC
The economy is in good shape. The private sector is doing fine. We need more public sector jobs. BHO
Bye Bye OBummer 2012
Jello heads!
You should change your name to "sloppy brain".
Over 100 million in USA now on some form of public welfare.
Hussein has overseen the largest expansion of welfare, foodstamps, unemployment, medicaid, anchor babies for illegals, free healthcare, free lunch, free condoms in the history of our country.
Bankrupting future generations who will NEVER be able to pay the debt of his entitlement programs turned into virtual HAMMOCKS!
Over 100 million now on some form of the dole sucking at the government tit with few taxpayers left. 45% paying NO TAX at ALL. Just sucking!
Bye Bye OBummer 2012!
jello heads!
June 16, 2012 AP report about Paul Ryan states among other things: "The ascent has been swift for Ryan, who was voted prom king and the "Biggest Brown-Noser" of his 1988 high school class before leaving for college in Ohio."
Ascended to the top quickly! Where are you at?
In case you would like to read what the current Affordable Care Act covers without reading 400 pages. Here it is:
A number of important provisions of the health reform law (the Affordable Care Act) take effect in 2011, bringing with them new benefits for Americans suffering from or at-risk for heart disease or stroke. Among the new reforms taking effect this year:
These reforms build on a number of other provisions of the reform law that took effect in 2010, such as:
For more information about the Affordable Care Act or these provisions, please visit the American Heart Association’s health reform website at www.HeartsforHealthCare.org or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ website, www.healthcare.gov.
This Year
New Consumer Protections
Improving Quality and Lowering Costs