This is such a weird—and defensive—communications strategy. I have no idea what they are thinking. I mean, if they're afraid of Paul Ryan ... why did they pick him?
7:44 AM PT: Here's a possible explanation. Maybe Romney would rather talk about why he's retroactively distancing himself from Ryan than why he retroactively retired from Bain. And maybe Romney would rather talk about why he's got a secret fiscal plan than talk about his secret tax returns. Could that be it?
7:48 AM PT: Hey, and since turnabout is fairplay, Armando just pointed out that it'll be interesting to see if Ryan simultaneously seeks his old seat in the House along with being on Romney's ticket. If so, it'll be every bit as ringing an endorsement of Romney as Romney's talking points are of Ryan's plan. Such weirdness.
7:52 AM PT: Those talking points—the ones in which Romney distances himself from Ryan—shed light on why this was a Friday night news dump and a Saturday morning announcement. Yes, I know Biden got picked on a Saturday too, but that was two days before the convention. This pick, like Kerry's pick of John Edwards, is more than two weeks before the convention. Doing it on a Saturday, when the Olympics are still going on, virtually guarantees the smallest splash possible. Maybe Romneyland didn't realize that, but it sure seems like they are not seeking to maximize coverage here.
"Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have different views on some policy areas - like Medicare spending, entitlement reform, labor,etc." - So they'll play good-cop, bad-cop to try and confuse voters - that will be interesting...the media will chew them up!
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