Paul Ryan sucks.
There, I said it.
Can I give you my list now? It's been awhile, so why not? Ryan's performance in tonight's Vice Presidential debate was enough to make my blood boil about the epidemic of ignorance in this country, about what seems to be a full blown acceptance for mediocrity and showmanship over content and explanation of a task at hand.
(1) He has no idea what he is talking about.
(2) He tweaks statistics to make them fit his argument. Yes, all politicians do this, but if you're going to tout the originality of your campaign, then be original.
(3) He could not answer, directly looking her in the eye, the moderator's inquiry about whether women in a Romney Ryan American should fear abortion being illegal. Yes or no. There is no grey here unless you're color blind. Just answer the question without worrying about the swing vote. For once.
(4) He failed to mention his own cuts that impacted security for Americans abroad, and could have specifically impacted the security for the late Ambassador Stephens, and yet he continued to criticize the Obama administration for their intelligence failure with regard to the Ambassador's death and the attack on the embassy in Libya.
(5) He has no idea what he is talking about.
(6) He cited a car accident anecdote/statistic, whatever you want to call it, and really didn't properly acknowledge that Biden's family had been killed in a car wreck. A little tackless. A lot, actually.
(7) His widow's peak is distracting. For whatever reason, it makes me take him less seriously. I realize that is not a logical argument, but the waters in my brain have been poisoned. It is what it is.
(8) Don't talk about your five points if you can't intelligibly explain how to achieve them. He can't explain them. Ever.
(9) Everything with him feels like the third person. He is exceptionally bad at making you feel like he is standing next to you or with you.
(10) Again. He has no idea what he is talking about.
I respect a good, differing opinion, one worth of conversation, of discussion, of debate--but some of the things he was saying tonight brought about feelings of frustration, not reverence.
What did Biden say? He was sick of it. He thought it was about time Romney and his "friend" take responsibility for the dismal way they see the American people.
I couldn't agree more.
It's scarry!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou are right about a lot of this. I was just talking about how bad the debates have been thus far. I agree that Ryan doesn't know what he is talking about and he is a somewhat scary choice for vice president. There is not a whole lot that is viable with his approach. One of the things that really struck me as ignorant is his response to Iran. He criticized the Obama/Biden strategy of imposing sanctions, essentially saying that if we did not physically threaten the country that we were not doing enough. He said that what the U.S. needs to do is "get them to change their minds". He doesn't seem to realize that this is a systemic and cultural issue. The U.S. is not in a position to just change the minds of other nations' leaders. It's a ridiculously broad-stroked argument that has no chance of addressing a much more serious and much deeper cultural difference. Cool piece though. Nice to see you get angry again!
ReplyDelete