Election 2012 is Over. Romney Won.

By choosing Ryan as his veep, Romney has declared his future Presidency will be fundamentally serious. Ryan is a man people will vote for, who didn't care enough to get out and vote for Romney. I know many, many people who voted for McCain because Palin was the second name on the ticket. But Palin is no Ryan. Ryan is not schtick like Palin was**, and it just may be that Romney isn't an intentional fall-guy like McCain turned out to be.

There are reports of tremendously higher enthusiasm for the Romney/Ryan ticket than for the Obama/whoever ticket. This, plus that, means to me that Romney wins*. As they say in Las Vegas, "It just got interesting."

But I still can't vote for a mormon**, so you all can go on ahead and enjoy your presidential win without me. Your enjoyment will certainly by tinged with doubts and fears, however, because the national press corps will suddenly take an interest in reporting whatever negative thing they can spin off of the next President.
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*Unless the voting machines are either rigged or hacked, neither of which I put past either side or any of the international powers currently capable of doing it. Will somebody tell me again why e-voting machines don't all automatically spit out verifiable, man-countable PAPER "one voter cast such-and-such" ballot receipts?

**I also find it a pretty hard pill to swallow, voting for a Catholic. This used to be a Very Big Deal in America but they have managed by now to work themselves into the mainstream consciousness as "Christian." I think it may just go by without much notice that BOTH these guys belong to what (as Katie Couric would say) "some people say" are CULTS. Note please also that, even in these early days, I am happy to point out Ryan's record: mostly-good with a hint of totally caving in to the popular-but-wrong side of the fence on hugely-important issues. You know, rather a lot like Romney himself. You were warned.

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P.S. If the Republicans continue to let the leftist national press write the narrative and the Tea Partiers go back to sleep as happened in 1994, then election 2016 is also over: no matter how well the economy does, the press will spin the upcoming austerity so hard you will hurt yourself picking up a newspaper, and it will ALL be the fault of President R/R's evil entitlement benefit cutting and rich folks tax break giving. Win goes to the not-romney/not-ryan candidate. Note to the Republicans: stop being stupid with your spin and start putting it to work FOR you!