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News-Sentinel.com Your Town. Your Voice.
Opening Arguments

Night two

Veep nominee Paul Ryan gave the rousing speech that was expected of him last night. This is a pretty good assessment:

Paul Ryan’s speech, in two words? Nailed it. Everything that I like (and surmise that others will like as he becomes more and more familiar to them) about Paul Ryan was on perfect display during his half hour-ish on stage. He was intelligent without being intimidating; he was stern and serious but still optimistic and even funny; and he hinted at his wonkiness without getting into jargon and maintained his approachability. But the most beautiful thing about Paul Ryan as the potential vice president of the United States is his uncanny knack for breaking through populist myths and shrill leftist attacks and instead communicating the merits of free-market economics and small government, all without being shrill or polarizing.

My favorite line of the night, though, was from former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice:

Because it just has to be that the freest, most compassionate country on the face of the earth will continue to be the most powerful and the beacon for prosperity and the party across the world.

If the "freest, most compassionate country" doesn't continue to "be the most powerful," somebody else will be glad to take on that role, and the very thought of that should be horrifying to everyone.

Comments

Christopher Swing
Thu, 08/30/2012 - 5:52pm

Too bad it was so full of lies that even Fox News had to call that out;

On the other hand, to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention to facts, Ryan’s speech was an apparent attempt to set the world record for the greatest number of blatant lies and misrepresentations slipped into a single political speech. On this measure, while it was  Romney who ran the Olympics, Ryan earned the gold.

The good news is that the Romney-Ryan campaign has likely created dozens of new jobs among the legions of additional fact checkers that media outlets are rushing to hire to sift through the mountain of cow dung that flowed from Ryan’s mouth. Said fact checkers have already condemned certain arguments that Ryan still irresponsibly repeated.

Fact: While Ryan tried to pin the downgrade of the United States’ credit rating on spending under President Obama, the credit rating was actually downgraded because Republicans threatened not to raise the debt ceiling.

Fact: While Ryan blamed President Obama for the shut down of a GM plant in Janesville, Wisconsin, the plant was actually closed under President George W. Bush. Ryan actually asked for federal spending to save the plant, while Romney has criticized the auto industry bailout that President Obama ultimately enacted to prevent other plants from closing.

Fact: Though Ryan insisted that President Obama wants to give all the credit for private sector success to government, that isn't what the president said. Period. 

Fact: Though Paul Ryan accused President Obama of taking $716 billion out of Medicare, the fact is that that amount was savings in Medicare reimbursement rates (which, incidentally, save Medicare recipients out-of-pocket costs, too) and Ryan himself embraced these savings in his budget plan.

Elections should be about competing based on your record in the past and your vision for the future, not competing to see who can get away with the most lies and distortions without voters noticing or bother to care. Both parties should hold themselves to that standard. Republicans should be ashamed that there was even one misrepresentation in Ryan’s speech but sadly, there were many.

--snip--

I can now say I've linked to a Fox News piece that was more honest than a post here on the News-Sentinel. The bar sinks ever lower.

tim zank
Thu, 08/30/2012 - 8:46pm

Fox News didn't "call out" anything,  rather Sally Kohn, a liberal opinion contributer (just like Bob Beckel and Juan Williams) offered her opinion in her regular liberal column on foxnews.com..

To imply fox news offered an opinion is disingenuous at best, like Huffpo, you try (miserably) to make it appear as though "Fox News" was calling out Ryan....cute...and typical, at least Huffpo printed the headline "Fox News' Sally Kohn" so they were legit, but by the time it gets regurgitated down to the professional lefty troll level it becomes (above) "even Fox News had to call that one out".....nice try

BUT!

If we are to use your standards, it then becomes obvious, since S.E. Cupp and Joe Scarborough were both thrilled with the speech, I can (in all good conscience) print (like you) Even MSNBC says Ryan Speech was a Huge Success!

Funny how that works....

 

As for Kohns critque, she's full of sh*t.

Harl Delos
Thu, 08/30/2012 - 10:49pm

Fox News managrd to summrize <a href-"http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/08/30/paul-ryans-speech-in-three-words/"> Ryan's speech in three words</a>

Liar, liar, pants on fire.

Christopher Swing
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 1:50am

HAHAHA Zank, even you can't actually be stupid enough to believe what you just typed. XD

Is it a Fox News link? Was it posted on Fox News? Yes? Sit down and STFU, Zank. :D

You must really be at a loss if all you can do is nitpick as to whether or not something run on Fox "really" means something about Fox... trying to ignore that you have to admit that Ryan lied - multiple times - and there's simply no comeback for it.

gadfly
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 8:04pm

Seems to me that the press and liberals like Chris who, like Obama have no answers for our economic problems (and will not have into the future), should wake up.  Obama will do anything to keep from answering to his poor performance as president ... including lie every day.  Did anyone do an honest Fact Check on the presidents words over the past week?

Christopher Swing
Fri, 08/31/2012 - 10:38pm

Are you hoping that if you can find enough lies on the other side, it somehow makes the confirmed lies on your side OK? You've actually been reduced to "but they were doin' it toooooo?"

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