Wednesday, October 3, 2012

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. It's the how to details that count Oct. 3

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.


If wishes were horses
Beggars would ride….

That nursery rhyme teaches  the folly of wishing without a workable action plan . .   Mitt Romney has  based his  campaign on wishes.  Who does not want  more jobs,  a growing economy, and a solution to the deficit problem:?  Some  items not on his list were  apple pie.(Motherhood crops up in his severe right turn to social conservatism as he proposes ending Planned Parenthood and overturning Roe v Wade) and  the details  of  how he would  turn those wishes into reality. He has a chance to fill in the blanks  in the debate in Denver, Oct. 3 (tonight).

So who will win the debate?    Many experienced observers  believe   it is the degree of  likeability , competence, and who comes up with the best zingers. However, Pres. Clinton received praise for this year’s Democratic  convention speech  for being the “explainer in chief”..  There is  a hunger for explanations and this  may be the year of “it’s the message details, stupid”. 
 
Polls are showing that confidence in the President’s ability to manage the economy has increased so much, he is ahead of Romney now.  Obama so far has succeeded in making the case that   the GOP’s trickle down theories of cutting taxes on the wealthy and inflicting pain on the poor and middle class are not the only paths  to recovery . What the President has done or plans to do is more palatable and will eventually work..

While weak on the “how to”  details,  Romney has answered one question.     Whose interests would he favor when hard choices have to be made after the election? He will have a difficult  time with that one,  especially when he.was caught dissing   47% of Americans   as government dependence lovers  and for  not paying income taxes ...  
 
The dilemma Romney faces is that our problems are difficult  to solve  without goring someone’s ox and turning off  voters.  The best strategy for him is to remain vague and. Obama’s task is not to let him get away with it.

 Romney has some new headwinds. Former President  Bill Clinton raised an important point at the Democratic Convention that gained some traction.  It is the “addition” issue, the “ fuzzy math” charge revisited.. .  The GOP is vulnerable on the question of  whether Romney’s  plans will  decrease the deficit. . Romney himself has presented few details, but  his running mate, Paul Ryan, has.  The Congressional Budget Office scored both the impact of repealing Obamacare and  Ryan’s budget reduction plan.  Their conclusion was that neither would  reduce the deficit, and would actually add to it. So obnoxious are some of Ryan’s proposals, especially concerning voucherizing Medicare, that Romney has distanced himself by claiming he has his own plans…though he has never let  us know  with what part of Ryan he differs..

The GOP often counters  with “the President has not given us details either”. Their argument is “two wrongs make a right  ” .  Unfortunately for that line of discourse, Obama has been more detailed than Romney has.  Obama  did present a detailed deficit reduction plan that included 10 cuts for every one revenue dollar raised. Obamacare is law, reduces the debt,  and extends the life of Medicare.  His jobs plan to hire teachers and build infrastructure was presented as legislation. . It is just that since 2010, the  Teaparty controlled House of Representatives blocked any new initiatives .

The GOP sheds crocodile tears that Obama did not embrace in entirety the Simpson Bowles recommendations, yet every single GOP  member of the Senate and House  voted against it when they had a chance. .   If Obama wins, a Simpson Bowles- like  approach will too. If the GOP gets the government reins, the Ryan plan rises. That is the fundamental choice facing us in November.

(A version of this appeared in the Sky Hi Daily News today)




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