Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan Can Win the Whiteboard Generationhttp://bit.ly/NKtr2k
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan Can Win the Whiteboard Generation
August 17, 2012 RSS Feed Print
Good news. The Boston Globe is reporting that presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney and his VP pick Rep. Paul Ryan will be making an unexpected joint appearance on Monday at a town hall meeting New Hampshire. It's welcome news because both Romney and Ryan campaign better when they are together, and the big crowds and through-the-roof donations they attracted last weekend are proof of that. If the Romney campaign were smart, they'd schedule a lot more of these impromptu joint appearances as the week heading into the convention unfolds.
This news comes a day after the national press was guffawing over Romney's use of a whiteboard—he used his hand as an eraser, one reporter pointed out. Thank God he didn't do a power point, said another, rolling his eyes. Dry-erase marker in hand, Romney listed how he and Ryan's plan would save Medicare by offering future retirees the choice between Medicare and private insurance a decade from now. On the other side, he showed President Barack Obama's financing of the Affordable Care Act by cutting $700 billion from Medicare benefits for current seniors. As the president himself is fond of saying, the choice couldn't be clearer: robbing current seniors to pay for an unpopular program versus long-term entitlement restructuring that doesn't affect current retirees at all.
We haven't seen a whiteboard since NBC News's Tim Russert used one in the 2000 election to help illustrate how complicated the electoral vote could be. People loved that whiteboard because it was simple and easy to understand. People still love whiteboards: These days, little kids still use whiteboards instead of chalkboards in classrooms; high schoolers use the electronic version, called smartboards.
What all the media mocking doesn't take into account is that people are ready for some simplicity. They want solutions. They're tired of all the fighting. And as I've written many times over the last few years, the American electorate is extraordinarily engaged.
That's due in large part to people's concern over the economy and the national debt, and whether there will be any money left for a safety net for the next generation. They want to understand what the options are, and specifically how we can reform the system to keep it solvent before it's too late. They're not getting that from Obama.
Exhibit A: Courtesy of the White House pool report on Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Virginia, the same day as the Republicans-want-to-keep-you-in-chains comment. After a voter asked about Social Security, Biden said: "Hey, by the way, let's talk about Social Security. Number one, I guarantee you, flat guarantee you, there will be no changes in Social Security. I flat guarantee you." No wonder the White House has stopped issuing transcripts of Biden's events. Even theWashington Post editorial board found itself "disheartened by his pandering comment," given that unless changes are made, Social Security will be bankrupt by 2033. That's when voters like me, who are in our 40s, will be retiring.
