VP Candidate Paul Ryan?---Are You Kidding Me?

Dear Madame L,

I know you'll have a lot to say about presidential candidate Mitt Romney choosing Rep. Ryan (R-Wisc.) as his vice-presidential running mate.

To me, it seems like an obvious sop to the new GOTP, the Grand Old Tea Party. Why do you think Romney chose Ryan?

Sincerely,

With That Budget Plan? Are You Kidding Me?

Dear Kidding,

Madame L has also wondered about the logic behind Mitt Romney's choice of Paul Ryan as his running mate. She thinks it comes down to desperation born (as you suggested) of the need to get the backing of the right wing of the increasingly right-leaning Republican Party.

When in doubt about such matters, Madame L often relies on the wisdom of Nate Silver at Five Thirty Eight, his blog which is now carried by the New York Times.

About the VP choice, Mr. Silver writes  that Mitt Romney is taking a huge and surprising risk. Paul Ryan is "more conservative than any Democratic nominee was liberal, meaning that he is the furthest from the center." Ryan doesn't poll well in his home state, and his budget proposal has received criticism not only from progressives but even from staunch Republican conservatives. Also, with a Mormon presidential candidate and a Catholic vice-presidential candidate, Mitt Romney has broken the tradition of having at least one Protestant in the pair.

Madame L hopes you'll read the entire article, which is, as always, thoughtful and full of facts and statistics (recognizing that statistics are not necessarily facts).

However, Nate Silver doesn't pretend to know why Mitt Romney chose Paul Romney and admits he can't predict all the consequences of this choice.

And, if Nate Silver doesn't know, Madame L feels better about not knowing.

Sincerely,

Madame L