How to lose voters: Pick Ryan
By The Bakersfield Californian
Mitt Romney could have selected Gen. David Petraeus. But he didn't. He could've helped all of us sleep better at night with Robert Gates. But they wouldn't let him. Instead, Romney's advisers, in an incredible and incredulous "we know best" manner, selected a man who is the poster child for ending Medicare as we know it. From this point forward, you will begin to see the president's poll numbers begin to go into double digits in some swing states for voters over 50.
Paul Ryan is an unknown commodity to most -- and most importantly to most independent voters in swing states -- in almost all areas except one. He comes with a plan that would turn Medicare into a voucher program for people 50 and under. What the Romney campaign needed more than anything else was to select someone for vice president who would appeal to middle-of-the-road voters who are deeply involved in earning a living and taking care of their families. They now barely look up just long enough at the TV to see a man who represents the end of a medical plan that their personal finances were counting on in the years ahead.
Noel Pineo
Bakersfield
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