A common tendency in human behavior is to act in the way we were most recently reinforced to act -- or not to act.
Last time around, the Republicans picked a physically unattractive war hero who had been a young hellion and screwup and who'd been married twice to be their Presidential candidate. He, in turn, picked a sexy woman with more spunk than know-how as his running mate.
Their campaign fell short.
This time, the Republicans picked a handsome man who'd never been in the military, who has lived his life on the straight and narrow, and who has been married to the same woman for 43 years. He, in turn, picked a nerdy-looking, well-mannered budget wonk as his running mate.
We have yet to see how this campaign will turn out.
But if it doesn't turn out well, at least it won't be for the same reasons as last time.
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After attending a recent Romney/Ryan fundraiser a friend of mine commented that Ryan had a better presence than Romney, and found his speech more enjoyable. Whether or not they're successful this time around it sounds like Ryan has a great deal of political potential, what do you think?
Anon --
I honestly don't know. My initial reaction on hearing he was chosen was that he would be great for the country -- we need someone who's going to take a serious whack at the deficit -- but I'm not sure he's going to appeal to the voting public. Unfortunately, campaigns often devolve in competing sound bites, and I'm not sure he's a sound bite kind of guy. He does give off squeaky clean vibes, so it doesn't look as if he's going to run into a John Edwards/Herman Cain-type of problem. He seems smarter than Romney, and has stronger core beliefs, but does that translate into political potential? I just don't know.
If Obama does get reelected, Ryan, by virtue of being the losing VP candidate this time, would be the leading candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination next time around, that's the way it seems to often work. So I guess we'll find out about his potential sooner or later.
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