Republicans attempt to sell Paul Ryan as a moderate
Shortly after Mitt Romney announced Paul Ryan as his vice presidential nominee, Gallup released a survey on the Wisconsin representative’s standing with the public. 39 percent said he was an excellent or pretty good pick, compared to 42 percent who said he was only fair or poor. This is an even split, but compared to other nominees, it’s the least positive reaction since Dan Quayle in 1988 — even Sarah Palin left the gate with 46 percent saying she was an excellent or pretty good choice.
But because Ryan is unknown to most of the country — 58 percent have never heard of him — this isn’t the hurdle it looks like; Republicans still have a chance to define Ryan in the public eye. Romney, in particular, is trying to introduce his running mate as earnest, moderate and happy to work with the other side. On Sunday, while campaigning in Virginia, Romney praised Ryan’s collaboration with Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.), “This man said I’m going to find Democrats to work with. He found a Democrat to co-lead a piece of legislation.”
Wyden downplays the extent of the collaboration — describing it as little more than a “policy paper”— but Republicans have grasped the Ryan-Wyden Medicare proposal as a way to beat back Democratic attacks on Ryan’s own Medicare plan. In The American Spectator, senior editor Quin Hillyer cites Ryan-Wyden as evidence of Democratic support for premium support — the basis of Ryan’s plan — and the Wall Street Journal editorial board does the same, by presenting Ryan’s reforms as the only reasonable course for Medicare.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/republicans-attempt-to-sell-paul-ryan-as-a-moderate/2012/08/14/8f717a9a-e611-11e1-9739-eef99c5fb285_blog.html