Ryan's Grand Slam

A speech which actually gets better with a fresh reading. There were gems I just plain missed the first time around.

Like I missed the shout-out to "Julia," Obama's Entitlement Gal, in this passage:

College graduates should not have to live out their 20s in their childhood bedrooms, staring up at fading Obama posters and wondering when they can move out and get going with life. Everyone who feels stuck in the Obama economy is right to focus on the here and now. And I hope you understand this too, if you’re feeling left out or passed by: You have not failed, your leaders have failed you. None of us have to settle for the best this administration offers – a dull, adventureless journey from one entitlement to the next, a government-planned life, a country where everything is free but us. Listen to the way we’re spoken to already, as if everyone is stuck in some class or station in life, victims of circumstances beyond our control, with government there to help us cope with our fate. It’s the exact opposite of everything I learned growing up in Wisconsin, or at college in Ohio. When I was waiting tables, washing dishes, or mowing lawns for money, I never thought of myself as stuck in some station in life. I was on my own path, my own journey, an American journey where I could think for myself, decide for myself, define happiness for myself. That’s what we do in this country. That’s the American Dream. That’s freedom, and I’ll take it any day over the supervision and sanctimony of the central planners.

Highlights (though it was all highlights) here, plus video.

It's pure dynamite. I called it "devastating;" minutes later Brit Hume used the same word (as well as a "lethal shot" at the Obama reelection campaign).

I know I'll catch hell for this, but the election is over. This week Romney/Ryan will move ahead in the polls and they will not relinquish that lead, save for the occasional outlier. Polls will tighten and widen; but from this moment forward, the preference cascade begins.

In a way, Ryan shouldn't be over-praised because he had so damn much material to work with. But he worked with that abundance of riches masterfully. Watch him gracefully segue from the stimulus to ObamaCare, and from ObamaCare to Medicare. He's talking about discreet economic policies, but he knits them together so you barely even realize he's shifted topics.

His poise was enormous. He delivered a Mortal Kombat fatality on the Obama presidency and he did it with "aw, shucks, ma'am" earnestness and goodwill. He seemed like such a nice boy as he spoke, and each and every word he said was deadly.

It doesn't matter what Romney says tomorrow. I suppose we should all hope, of course, for the Speech of His Life. Perhaps he'll deliver; one thing about Romney is that he is intensely competitive.

But unless he says something remarkably stupid -- something I'm pretty sure he won't -- the media coverage on him will be "safe and solid as usual, but nothing like the power of Paul Ryan's address."

Which is just fine, because Ryan eviscerated the Obama Presidency tonight. Romney doesn't need to do bonus damage to it. It's done.

Ann Romney's speech on Tuesday night was one for the political record books-- the best speech ever given by a would-be First Lady. And the most effective in achieving core strategic goals (humanizing Mitt, reassuring women, reassuring voters generally that her husband was up the job).

And even her speech -- which was tremendous -- was not up to Ryan's.

Romney can't top Ryan's speech because it can't be topped. So his mission will be to simply close the deal, and as Romney has been the architect of this deal, I don't think he'll blow the final pitch. It might be a little unspectacular, but it will provide, for those millions of Americans who have softly decided that the president should be replaced, but are still unsure of the alternative, the reassurance necessary for the full change of mind to support Romney.

Someone on Twitter noted something I'd said before: For millions of Americans, non-newsjunkies, non-conservatives, this convention will have been among the very first sustained criticisms of the Obama presidency they've ever seen.

Think about what they usually see -- a few snippets on the news, almost entirely protective of the Naked Emperor.

I have to imagine their brains are buzzing after Ryan's speech. He really laid Obama open.

I believe speculation stuff about replacing Biden is going to hit a fever pitch this weekend. I'm not saying it'll happen... though it might. I'm saying that Ryan's speech shook them, and you're going to see some panic.

Here's another prediction: I think Ryan's appeal to young voters... is going to work. Not taking a lead, maybe, but turning it into a 46-52 type proposition.

They thought Ryan would be bad. They were wrong. He was worse than they imagined, and then some.

Another Vote For "Devastating:" Some called it "awe-inspiring."

Ryan’s 36-minute address did everything he needed to do: offer a devastating indictment of President Obama’s economic record, with a few memorable barbs about the president’s legendary self-importance; offer enough personal background so that viewers feel they know a little about Ryan; and most of all, convince voters that he and Mitt Romney will devote all their energy to jobs, the economy, and debt.

Ryan got it all done.

posted by Ace at 08:16 AM

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