Ryan: a big shift to the fiscal theater

Courtesy Gateway Pundit

I thought I would just throw in my two cents about Mitt Romney's VP pick of Paul Ryan. It seems clear that Romney is picking Ryan for two reasons: to offset his political inexperience and to shift the conversation towards the deficit.

Romney's primary reason for picking Ryan is to acquire a Washington insider. Although Romney does have some political experience, namely his governorship of Massachusetts, he has no experience on the national level. As he has tirelessly reminded Americans, he is a corporate man, not a career politician. While this may sell well to most Americans, who still view the private sector in a better light than the government, it means that Romney is unfamiliar with the nuances of political speech. He speaks bluntly and honestly more often than he should ("I like being able to fire people"), and is notorious for saying the wrong thing to the wrong crowd (insulting London on its Olympic performance while in London). Ryan, by contrast, has been in Congress since 1999. He is very familiar with political speech, and will probably help Romney cut down on gaffes.

The other reason for picking Ryan is to shift the focus of the campaign. This election has been a referendum on Obama's economic performance, as both candidates have made clear. Ryan's main claim to fame, however, is not his performance on the economy, it is his controversial budget. He is routinely described as a "deficit hawk." Romney's pick of Ryan seems like an attempt to shift the focus of the campaign from the economy to the deficit.