The health of the economy

The New York Times a couple of days ago announced they were backing the Obama campaign in the American election, citing the Obama healthcare policy as being a prime factor for doing so.

Although I fully support the NHS, and would endorse national healthcare free at the point of delivery, someone in the United Kingdom needs to advise the Americans that there is no point in having big ideas if the ordinary people do not have the money to pay for them (either through taxes or insurance).

We've learned that from hard experience.

The health of the economy must come first.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/opinion/sunday/barack-obama-for-president.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

What factors motivate the Latino vote in America

In an article for The Guardian Ed Pilkington and Amanda Michel in New York consider what factors motivate the Latino vote in America.

No mention was made in this article of the devout Catholicism of the Latino peoples - a religious affliliation that will chime with the profound Catholic outlook (one could almost say philosophy) of Vice-Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/05/latino-vote-population-electoral-project

Vice-Presidential candidate Paul Ryan's choice of clothes

Features writer Hadley Freeman devotes a whole page of the Guardian's G2 section to talking about American Vice-Presidential candidate Paul Ryan's choice of clothes.

In her list of possible reasons why he dresses "badly" she misses out the obvious one - that he isn't vain about his appearance.

The Guardian, we should remember, cheered through three elections Tony Blair and his hyper-tight trousers and carefully mediated appearance.  Mrs Blair even had a personal style guru installed at 10 Downing Street.  The Guardian, via the features of Hadley Freeman, presumably prefers to judge politicians by style not substance.

Also in Hadley Freeman's feature she refers to Rev Giles Fraser's attack on Ayn Rand as being irreligious.  Are Rev Fraser and Ms Freeman suggesting that Ayn Rand's atheism invalidates all her work?  This reminds me of Antonia White's schooling where she was not allowed to own, read, or even refer to, any book that was not written by a self-professedly Catholic author.

Is not the real reason for this frivolous sort of feature the fact that the left has so far not been able to land any serious blows on Paul Ryan, and that he is beginning to alarm them?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/20/paul-ryan-republican-dresses-badly?newsfeed=true

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/ryan-and-romney-a-contrast-in-sartorial-styles/2012/08/14/da09ea70-e642-11e1-8f62-58260e3940a0_story.html

Trip Gabriel and Helene Cooper reporting a Paul Ryan speech in Florida

Also in the New York Times is an article by Trip Gabriel and Helene Cooper reporting a Paul Ryan speech in Florida. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/us/politics/in-defending-medicare-plan-ryan-speaks-on-caregiver-role.html?hp

Earlier on Dateline London (BBC News 24) Gavin Esler said Paul Ryan had "set the campaign alight".

Henry Chu (Los Angeles Times) said Paul Ryan "has very strong intellectual credentials".

Agnes Poirier (Marianne) had nothing to say about Paul Ryan, which reinforced my suspician that she is not a serious journalist.

Double page

Double page spread in today's Guardian on why Paul Ryan is not going to be an important factor in the American election.

Ewen MacAskill in Washington, Richard Luscombe in Miami, and Ana Marie Cox (located unstated).

The double-page allocation rather undermines their argument.

It's a case of protesting too much (to quote Hamlet).

Not completely sure why I like Paul Ryan, but I like him a lot (even from this distance).

Paul Ryan is the only candidate on offer, anywhere

In today's Guardian Martin Kettle writes about Paul Ryan in a major article.

Read the article:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/15/paul-ryan-mitt-romney?INTCMP=SRCH

Also see:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/16/paul-ryan-ayn-rand-admirer

Some lines from the Martin Kettle piece:

One out of four presidents has died in office.

...the focused, intelligent and powerful Ryan...

...reduction of income tax to two rates - 10% and 25%.

But I disagree with Martin Kettle that the American election will not have any influence elsewhere in the western world.

I have tried to visualise the electorate (both Britannia and Europa although it is probably the same for America) as a single person and attempt to surmise what that person might say.

The image that returns repeatedly to my mind is Catherine Zeta-Jones as Eustacia Vye on the summit of Egdon Heath crying out: 

“O deliver my heart from this fearful gloom and loneliness; send me a great love from somewhere, else I shall die, truly I shall die.”

The people want a strong and confident leader, and Paul Ryan is the only candidate on offer, anywhere. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyjKOSw_xe0

Michael White's article about Paul Ryan

Two paragraphs from Michael White's article about Paul Ryan in today's Guardian.

The words "conviction politician" stand out.

Sincerity wins elections - even Margaret Thatcher's bitterest opponents respected her sincerity.

Grossly exaggerated editorial in the Guardian today about the choice of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney's candidate for Vice President.

Enthusiasm for Rupert Murdoch; a "lunatic" approach to economics; negligent proposals that "would end in the deaths of many poor Americans"; the prospective trashing of American science, American veterans, the American military; and a pandering to the "foaming reactionary fringe".

Had this editorial been written with sincerity one would have to conclude that the writer was stupid.

Only stupidity or fear could have provoked such invective.

As it is not the Guardian's style to be stupid it would appear that the newspaper is afraid of Mr Ryan.

I know little about American politics, but even I can see (from thousands of miles away) that this is someone interesting.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/12/mitt-romney-paul-ryan-us-elections?INTCMP=SRCH 

All other considerations are completely unimportant

Obviously the American election is nothing to do with me.  And in any case the choice between Democrats and Republicans often seems like choosing between the left-wing and the right-wing of the British Conservative Party.  But in my opinion the most important thing to know about Paul Ryan is that he is pro-life - beside that fact all other considerations are completely unimportant.

David Frum, writing for Newsweek, has other factors:  http://magazine-directory.com/Newsweek.htm

Update:

Whatever his detractors say, Paul Ryan does at least seem to have an integrated view of the world, a complete philosophical outlook - he seems to be someone important because of what he is rather than (as is the norm with politicians) what he is promising to become.

I thought this article by Nate Silver was interesting:  http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/11/a-risky-rationale-behind-romneys-choice-of-ryan/?hp