N.M. Guariglia, identified as a foreign policy analyst and columnist, makes a case for a GOP presidential ticket of Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, "the anti-Obama," and Wisconsin Rep. Ryan, "the cerebral ideas man."
On Daniels:
Well, for starters, he's the best governor in the country. That may seem like a subjective statement, but consider the financial state of the 50 states — and then look at Indiana. The fiscally competent manner in which Daniels has governed the Hoosier State has created recent buzz about a potential candidacy for the White House in 2012. Andy Barr at Politico writes about Daniels' record: “Indiana has turned its $200 million deficit into a $1.3 billion surplus, paid all outstanding debts, doubled venture capital investment in the state and increased employment.”
Andrew Ferguson has an excellent piece over at the Weekly Standard detailing Daniels' leadership style. “He treats waste in government as a moral offense,” Ferguson writes of Daniels. Ferguson continues: “No other state in the Midwest — all of them, like Indiana, dependent on a declining manufacturing sector — can match this record.” The list of accomplishments is impressive: seven percent of new U.S. employment occurs in Indiana, even though Hoosiers comprise just two percent of the country's population; more people are moving in than out of the state for the first time in four decades; it is one of only nine states with a triple-A bond rating.
And Ryan:
But can anyone name a single politician in America who has publicly challenged President Obama's policies more forcefully and coherently than Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan? Ryan is young, just 40-years-old. But he's as smart as a whip. A few minutes of watching him discuss monetary policy or the wonders of the free market on YouTube will show that. He's conservative but, like Daniels, not a firebrand. Like Daniels, there's not a threatening thing about Ryan's personality. And like Daniels, he's a doer — and a man of ideas.
Ryan uses stubborn things, like facts, to emphasize his arguments. He seems to know every stat and chart in the books off the top of his head, and there's no debating statistics when they're presented to you in a clear and concise manner. Ryan's ability to articulate complex ideas, and offer long-term remedies to difficult financial problems, has made him a rising star in the Republican Party. Watch him here take President Obama to task over the health care bill. Obama looked bewildered throughout the entire thing. Can you imagine a Ryan vs. Biden debate? It's been said that Obama has tremendous respect for Ryan as an opponent. Something tells me Obama doesn't want to see much of Ryan on the campaign trail come 2012. All the more reason he should be on it.
It occurred to me while I was reading this that the current administration has it backwards -- the idea man in the top spot (whether you like his ideas or not) and the more experienced politician as vice president
