It's never a good thing in a Presidential race when your choice of running mate single-handedly destroys an attack against your opponent. If you remember, back in 2008 one of John McCain's few effective lines of attack against Barack Obama was the "experience" line, that McCain with his decades of government service was qualified to be President while Obama was some inexperienced greenie out of his league. And then McCain picked Sarah Palin, as inexperienced a running mate as we've ever had and promptly destroyed that line of attack. Should have had more thought process go into that choice, John, but I'm sure you're well aware of that by now.
Well, it's de ja vu again, because Mitt Romney has done the exact same thing by chosing Paul Ryan. We've heard over and over during this campaign the line of attack from Romney that Obama has no experience in the private sector (nor Biden) and therefore is not qualified for the presidency. Indeed, Mitt has even gone so far as to suggest a Constitutional amendment that would disqualify anyone who hasn't worked in "business" for three years for the Presidency, a move that would bar such former presidents as Eisenhower and Teddy Roosevelt, not to mention McCain (but wouldn't bar Obama, who spent over a decade as a lawyer).
But now that line of attack has apparently been blown out of the water by the selection of Ryan, who has almost no private sector experience. Indeed, the only real adult experience he's had in the private sector has been brief stints with his family construction firm in Janesville, WI in between his numerous government jobs (first after his boss Sen. Bob Kasten lost his seat in 1992 before he got his Empower America job the next year and then again for a few months in 1997 before launching his House bid). Other than that, Ryan has spent his entire adult life in goverment or government related service:
Ryan began his career in the public sector before he even graduated college - in 1991 as a Senate intern - and then spent the mid-1990s as a Senate aide to Sens. Bob Kasten (R-WI) and Sam Brownback (R-KS). After that, he worked for vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp, then settled in for 13 years as a member of the House of Reprsentatives.
Obama actually worked for private companies for the sum total of 14 years. If he is unqualified by Romney's standards to grasp how the economy works, it's not clear what would make Romney think Ryan more prepared to understand job creation, or to assume the Office of the President.
I guess that amendment you proposed is dead and buried, huh Mitt?
But this is a real problem for the Mitt campaign (one of many Ryan now brings to the ticket, but to list those would take forever). And how do they try to address it? By trying to glorify Ryan's college jobs:
One of Ryan's summer jobs in college was as an Oscar Mayer salesman in Minnesota, peddling turkey bacon and a new line called "Lunchables" to supermarkets - he even drove the "Wienermobile" once.
Yes, over a decade of work as a lawyer doesn't qualify you for the Presidency, but if you drove the Weinermobile once, you're okay in my book!
The campaign also makes note of Ryan "moonlighting" as a waiter at the Capitol Hill restuarant Tortilla Coast and as a fitness trainer at the Washington Sport and Health Club. Oh yeah and he worked at McDonald's in high school. With that glittering private sector resume, who wouldn't want this guy to be President.
Sorry, Mitt. I bet you had fun with that whole "business experience" line of attack. But just like McCain's "experience" approach, that is now dead and buried. And you have no one to blame but yourself. This is why a choice of running mate born out of desperation and panic usually ends up backfiring on you.