E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSMooresville, N.C. -- On their second full day of campaigning together, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are taking advantage of enormous crowds and an intense media spotlight to help reshape their public images, and to defend one another's personal biographies, with a particular focus on shoring up perceived weaknesses.
Romney, speaking last, praised Ryan's work in Congress, where he has spent the last seven terms representing Wisconsin's First District, but pitched to a crowd of nearly 2,000 that Ryan had gone to Washington at the expense of his career, rather than as a career.
"His career ambition was not to go to Washington. That is not what he wanted to do, but he became concerned about what was happening in the country and wanted to get America back on track and so he put aside the plans he had for his career and said I'm going to go and serve, and he's done that and he's put the country and policies to get America right again ahead of ambition," Romney told the crowd at a NASCAR technical facility here.
But that interpretation of Ryan's career clashes with his actual biography. After graduating with a degree in economics and political science, Ryan moved to Washington to work as a congressional staffer, having already become familiar with campaigns as a volunteer for Ohio congressman John Boehner, now House speaker. Ryan returned the private sector and Wisconsin only briefly, before being elected to Congress at age 28.
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus talks with NBC's David Gregory about Democratic assaults on Paul Ryan's record and how the candidate should best defend himself.
Ryan's career in the public sector has been seen by some political analysts as a potential liability on the Romney ticket, where executive competence and a Washington-outsider persona have long been the hallmarks of the campaign. Yesterday, Ryan suggested his legislative skills could help Romney in governing more than they might hurt the brand in campaigning.
“I believe that my record of getting things done in Congress will be a very helpful complement to Governor Romney’s executive and private sector success outside of Washington,” Ryan said in Norfolk.
Ryan also returned the favor for Romney today, burnishing the GOP nominee's biography, including his tenure as head of the 2002 Olympics, and as Massachusetts governor, an oft-overlooked period for a candidate who prefers to focus on his business experience.
"His country asked him to move to Salt Lake, to turn it around and save the Olympics, he did it and we're so proud of that moment," Ryan said. "The contrast could not be more clear. When he was governor of Massachusetts, he balanced the budget without raising taxes. President Obama has given us budgets with no balance ever and a lot of new taxes."
The setting at NASCAR's technical institute was designed to let another bit of Romney's personal biography and personality peek out: he's a car guy, and the Romney logo-emblazoned stock car behind him was too good to resist.
"You see as a boy my dad made Ramblers, alright? And I only dreamed of cars like that," Romney said, eyeing the car. "To have my name on a car like that it's just too much."
"It must have been tough for my girlfriend to be able to go out on that first date with me in that red rambler we had," Romney said, introducing his wife Ann, who spoke on stage for the first time since the Ryan announcement.
For the Romney campaign, today's event in which thousands of supporters overflowed into parking lots outside, is expected to be the smallest of three major rallies here, and in Wisconsin.
Most of the energy at the event came from seeing the ticket for the first time, but some, surely, came from stock car driver Darrell Waltrip who, pacing the stage in the pre-program, offered advice for Romney seemingly ripped from the Will Ferrell movie "Talladega Nights," and got the crowd cheering uproariously.
"I have a little advice for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan: Boogity Boogity Boogity!"
Leave a Comment:
A morman and a catholic.......both support "personhood," repealing Roe, letting the "church MEN" decide our birth control , and abolishing Planned Parenthood. As a woman I don't need to know another damn thing. BTW Mr. Ryan, there are NO rights for women in your bible and nature is survival of the fitest.....I will put my faith in the rights I have from the Constitution......be gone both of you.
The FACT that exlax ETCH-A-SKETCH & MEDICARE/SENIOR KILLER have to DEFEND each others personal biographies to cover up their TRUE IDENTITIES tells the 99% American People exactly WHAT THESE TWO REALLY ARE! Nothing but corrupt Republican corporate MONARCHY political puppet leaches!
I wonder how much SUPER POOP MONEY it took to produce a CROWD in Mooresville? Probably cost them a fortune! I know too many of the REAL AMERICANS in NC!!
99% American People, see this Pair of Puppets for what they REALLY ARE and VOTE 100% STRAIGHT DEMOCRATIC and let's rid our selves of their BLATANT CORRUPTION once & forever! The lives you save WILL be YOURS & your CHILDREN! BELIEVE IT, IT'S TRUE!!!
Some nice comments - lots of name calling and hostility. The complete lack of respect for other peoples points of view is awesome.
HEY EVERYONE....
A quick True or False test about Ryan's proposed changes to Medicare...
(True or False) - Both Democrats and Republicans UNIVERSALLY agree that Medicare in its present form is unsustainable
TRUE - By 2017 ten thousand Americans per day will be retiring... In this day of polarized partizanship, THIS IS THE ONE ISSUE THAT BOTH PARTIES AGREE WITH!
(True or False) - Rich people get free Medicare today -
TRUE- Everyone today, over the age of 65 ,recieves free Medicare benefits REGARDLESS OF INCOME!
(True or False) - The Ryan Budget takes Medicare Benefits away from current Medicare recipients or requires current Medicare recipients to contribute to the costs of their Medicare policy:
FALSE - All current Medicare recipients and Americans 55 and older are grandfathered into the current Medicare program FOR LIFE so nobody is throwing Grandma under a bus.
(True or False) - The Ryan Budget allows the wealthy to recieve free Medicare benefits-
FALSE-The Ryan Plan proposes that in TEN YEARS that new Medicare applicants undergo a "means test" that will evaluate the income and assets and require those that can afford to contribute to their Medicare costs, to contribute! The wealthy will no longer get a free ride on Medicare.... For those that cannot afford to contribute, they will be issued vouchers to offset or cover the costs of their Medicare plans...
HEY EVERYONE....
A quick True or False test about Ryan's proposed changes to Medicare... Its not what Obama has told you it is:
(True or False) - Both Democrats and Republicans UNIVERSALLY agree that Medicare in its present form is unsustainable
TRUE - By 2017 ten thousand Americans per day will be retiring... In this day of polarized partizanship, THIS IS THE ONE ISSUE THAT BOTH PARTIES AGREE WITH!
(True or False) - Rich people get free Medicare today -
TRUE- Everyone today, over the age of 65 ,recieves free Medicare benefits REGARDLESS OF INCOME!
(True or False) - The Ryan Budget takes Medicare Benefits away from current Medicare recipients or requires current Medicare recipients to contribute to the costs of their Medicare policy:
FALSE - All current Medicare recipients and Americans 55 and older are grandfathered into the current Medicare program FOR LIFE so nobody is throwing Grandma under a bus.
(True or False) - The Ryan Budget allows the wealthy to recieve free Medicare benefits-
FALSE-The Ryan Plan proposes that in TEN YEARS that new Medicare applicants undergo a "means test" that will evaluate the income and assets and require those that can afford to contribute to their Medicare costs, to contribute! The wealthy will no longer get a free ride on Medicare.... For those that cannot afford to contribute, they will be issued vouchers to offset or cover the costs of their Medicare plans...
WE CAN EITHER SAVE MEDICARE OR DESTROY IT BY DOING NOTHING TO REPAIR IT! THIS SEEMS TO BE A PRACTICAL SOLUTION TO ME... WHAT DO YOU THINK???
I want to know why Mitt Romney won't release his tax returns. He could shut Harry Reid up "just like that" by releasing his returns and proving that he DID pay income taxes for 10 years.
Couldn't he?
So ends Ryan Paul's political career... but these two can burnish each other's biographies and defend each other not releasing their tax info all the way through their landslide loss in November, then they can go polish each other's knobs for all I care.
Check it out via Google. Ryan in a forum is interrupted by a 71 year old geezer who starts complaining how he paid all these years and doesn't like MediCare being tampered with. Guards grab him, manhandle him. throw him to the ground, cuff him and hustle him off.
Ryan's reaction? He laughs and tells the crowd, 'hope he took his blood pressure meds!....haw haw'
I didn't like seeing that. I really didn't like seeing that.
Well, that article told us a lot. Mitt and Paul think each other are just wonderful people. Wow. what a headline. They are in lock step and their @!$%# doesn't stink. So, when is the Romney/Ryan honeymoon over and the media can start asking the hard questions that the public has been trying to find out since Mitts started campaigning. Tax returns, tax code, unemployment insurance, how is he going to create jobs, the deficit, energy policy, ect..... Time for the kissy face to stop and help us understand what exactly is Romney going to do to us. Or maybe for us.