USAT/Gallup Poll: Paul Ryan gets low marks for VP

[K1052]

Americans don't believe GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney hit a home run with his choice of Paul Ryan as a running mate, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, with more of the public giving him lower marks than high ones.

Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman, is seen as only a "fair" or "poor" choice by 42% of Americans vs. 39% who think he is an "excellent" or "pretty good" vice presidential choice.

USA TODAY/Gallup polls of registered voters after the announcements of running mates since Dick Cheney in 2000 all showed more positive reactions. Only Dan Quayle in a 1988 Harris Poll of likely voters was viewed less positively than Ryan, with 52% rating Quayle as a "fair" or "poor" vice presidential choice.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2012/08/paul-ryan-poll-vice-president-mitt-romney-/1?csp=34news#.UCleCKBtPw2


Not exactly an auspicious start. If the Romney campaign fails in any way to shape Ryan's narrative favorably this could turn into a Palin like debacle.

 

[dank69]

Ryan's on board with not disclosing tax returns which should piss off true conservatives and Romney is already distancing himself from Ryan's budget. Not to mention that awkward moment on TV when Ryan (while sitting next to Romney) mentioned eliminating the offshore tax havens that Romney is so fond of. :thumbsup:

 

[Genx87]

Not that I think he is a great pick or anything but that article is a classic example of painting the numbers how you want to make it look. Lets say the fair and poor are split evenly. It could be written as 60% think Ryan is a fair to excellent choice and 21% thinking he is a poor choice with apparently 19% being undecided.

 

[Charles Kozierok]

Not exactly an auspicious start. If the Romney campaign fails in any way to shape Ryan's narrative favorably this could turn into a Palin like debacle.

Uh, Ryan may not win Romney the election, but there's little he could do to make him into the massive embarrassment that Palin was (and to some extent, still is).

 

[yllus]

I'm curious how he'll do up against Mr. Biden. The Palin-Biden debate was such a ridiculous farce due to her winking and sloganeering that we never got to see Biden get challenged.

 

[Genx87]

I'm curious how he'll do up against Mr. Biden. The Palin-Biden debate was such a ridiculous farce due to her winking and sloganeering that we never got to see Biden get challenged.

I think Ryan has more ability to debate on his finger than Palin has in her entire body. But his issue is going to be what Romneys issue it to the voters. WTF differentiates you from Obama other than you are a Republican? From what I can tell Ryan voted for every major expansion of govt power and spending put in front of him. A major policy he voted no on was withdrawing troops from Iraq within 90 days. Wouldnt want to stop spending lots of money on defense contractors.

 

[K1052]

Uh, Ryan may not win Romney the election, but there's little he could do to make him into the massive embarrassment that Palin was (and to some extent, still is).

I was more speaking as to a risky running mate choice sinking a candidate.

 

[woolfe9999]

Not that I think he is a great pick or anything but that article is a classic example of painting the numbers how you want to make it look. Lets say the fair and poor are split evenly. It could be written as 60% think Ryan is a fair to excellent choice and 21% thinking he is a poor choice with apparently 19% being undecided.

The article is comparing Ryan's numbers with the initial numbers of prior VP candidates, with the same polling methodology. That comparison is pretty much the only thing that is relevant about the numbers. If the average initial approval for prior veep candidates was a whopping 80%, and Ryan had come in at 65%, that would sound great but would actually be pretty terrible. Ryan's numbers suggest that he is starting with a lower baseline than prior VP candidates, but I wouldn't put too much stock in this one initial poll.

 

[xj0hnx]

http://content.usatoday.com/communi...sident-mitt-romney-/1?csp=34news#.UCleCKBtPw2


Not exactly an auspicious start. If the Romney campaign fails in any way to shape Ryan's narrative favorably this could turn into a Palin like debacle.

Except unlike Palin, Ryan has the ability to speak without sounding like an idiot.

 

[MomentsofSanity]

Think it will take a few weeks until people really get to know Ryan before any polls will have meaning on the subject.

 

[thraashman]

Except unlike Palin, Ryan has the ability to speak without sounding like an idiot.

Yeah, but using her as a comparison isn't a good baseline. A ferret could have beaten her in a debate. If Ryan wants to not look like an idiot, he can't be aiming to look like just less of an idiot than the biggest idiot to ever be chosen as a VP candidate. That'd be like the Westboro Baptist Church going "hey, at least we're not the KKK".

 

[Thump553]

Think it will take a few weeks until people really get to know Ryan before any polls will have meaning on the subject.

Exactly, at least for the large majority of voters. How Ryan is protrayed in the next few weeks is super critical. Obama's team has to do the same sort of job on him as they have done on Romney-hit him relentlessy with the facts and with his record to counter the fantasy world image the GOP will try to push.

 

[hal2kilo]

I think Ryan has more ability to debate on his finger than Palin has in her entire body. But his issue is going to be what Romneys issue it to the voters. WTF differentiates you from Obama other than you are a Republican? From what I can tell Ryan voted for every major expansion of govt power and spending put in front of him. A major policy he voted no on was withdrawing troops from Iraq within 90 days. Wouldnt want to stop spending lots of money on defense contractors.

This. He did not get to be chairman of the finance committee by rocking the main stream Republican boat.

 

[sportage]

What does this matter? Any of it?

I'd just would have liked to have been the fly on the wall when Sheldon Adelson made the call instructing Mitt who he decided as Mitt's VP.
If Romney really wants to be the classic and truthful Mitt Romney, when ever questioned on anything, Mitt's response should always be "you'll have to ask Sheldon Adelson that question".
I mean really. We all know that...

 

[Anarchist420]

Genx87 is right and pretty much beat me to it. In comparison to the ghosts of running mates past, his numbers aren't that great, but for absolute numbers they're about the same as obama's.

Please note that I can't stand Ryan and that I wish his unfavorability number was a lot higher.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I think Ryan has more ability to debate on his finger than Palin has in her entire body. But his issue is going to be what Romneys issue it to the voters. WTF differentiates you from Obama other than you are a Republican? From what I can tell Ryan voted for every major expansion of govt power and spending put in front of him. A major policy he voted no on was withdrawing troops from Iraq within 90 days. Wouldnt want to stop spending lots of money on defense contractors.

My understanding is that Ryan is an ideological capitalist who studied Ayn Rand's Objectivism to some extent (yet remained a Christian and didn't become an atheist). That will give him firepower in the debate. He isn't going to embarrass himself and the presidential candidate intellectually the way Palin did. But, he's liable to embarrass the candidate by terrifying anyone who disagrees that the top 5% of the people should own the vast majority of wealth produced.

If Biden's handlers are smart, they'll begin dissecting Objectivist arguments and teaching Biden their weaknesses along with ways to bring them to the forefront.

 

[zsdersw]

Paul Ryan is the brains of the Romney/Ryan ticket. If they win, I fully expect Ryan to be the behind-the-scenes policy wonk he's always been. He'll be very similar to Dick Cheney in that regard... and Romney will be similar to GWB.

 

[cybrsage]

Ryan's on board with not disclosing tax returns which should piss off true conservatives and Romney is already distancing himself from Ryan's budget. Not to mention that awkward moment on TV when Ryan (while sitting next to Romney) mentioned eliminating the offshore tax havens that Romney is so fond of. :thumbsup:

And the returners pounce, infecting another thread with their loonie demands.

 

[cybrsage]

Yeah, but using her as a comparison isn't a good baseline. A ferret could have beaten her in a debate. If Ryan wants to not look like an idiot, he can't be aiming to look like just less of an idiot than the biggest idiot to ever be chosen as a VP candidate. That'd be like the Westboro Baptist Church going "hey, at least we're not the KKK".

I had to laugh at this comparison. It is true, though.

 

[cybrsage]

Paul Ryan is the brains of the Romney/Ryan ticket. If they win, I fully expect Ryan to be the behind-the-scenes policy wonk he's always been. He'll be very similar to Dick Cheney in that regard... and Romney will be similar to GWB.

With the exception that Cheney always seemed to have an aura of anger and hate about him, whereas Ryan does not.

One of the reasons he was picked, I am sure, is to help capture Ryan's home state.

 

[cybrsage]

What does this matter? Any of it?

I'd just would have liked to have been the fly on the wall when Sheldon Adelson made the call instructing Mitt who he decided as Mitt's VP.
If Romney really wants to be the classic and truthful Mitt Romney, when ever questioned on anything, Mitt's response should always be "you'll have to ask Sheldon Adelson that question".
I mean really. We all know that...

All the parties do this. The VP choice is a purely political one, so the candidates defer to their experts on the matter. Sometimes these experts mess up, but they usually are pretty good.

 

[Charles Kozierok]

The VP choice is a purely political one, so the candidates defer to their experts on the matter. Sometimes these experts mess up, but they usually are pretty good.

Kind of makes one wonder at the reports that Romney picked Ryan over the objections of all of his advisers.

 

[cybrsage]

I highly doubt those reports are true, since almost all of his advisors would remain tight lipped about it until they find out if Romney wins or not. Why say you advised against something that turns out to be good? They would play the system and wait until it was safe, then say the thing that makes them look the best.

 

[Charles Kozierok]

Why say you advised against something that turns out to be good?

I don't know. Perhaps they're more honest than their boss.

 

[zsdersw]

With the exception that Cheney always seemed to have an aura of anger and hate about him, whereas Ryan does not.

That's why I specified policy wonkiness when talking about their similarity.. didn't say anything about attitude or aura.