This Election’s Unasked – And Disheartening – Question : Presidential Succession
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| A terrible prospect. |
Should Mitt Romney win on November 6th, although it’s terrifying to consider, Paul Ryan could, in a moment, become President of the United States. I was 14, a new freshman in a new high school, when the literally stunning news of John F. Kennedy’s assassination reached us during Latin class. Soon, Vice President Lyndon Johnson was President Lyndon Johnson.
I understand how uncomfortable it would be to raise this possibility directly. We all do, I think. Nonetheless, it needs to be considered openly, for both Ryan and Biden. Each could suddenly be installed in the presidency. Simply stated, the Vice Presidential candidates in this election – in any presidential election – need more careful scrutiny. The policy distance between the presidential candidates and their running mates must be examined in the full light of history. Assassination, death in office, resignation, all these have blighted our history.In historical context, how do today’sVice Presidential hopefuls stand up under this scrutiny? It is well known that there is little or no distance between Joe Biden’s policy history and President Obama’s. The distance that exists, also well known, is toward the progressive side. Yet, there is no glaring difference between the two. It is equally well known that there is a wide and deep set of differences between Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney, although actually knowing what it is that Romney truly believes is a “how many angels can stand on the tip of a needle” question.
Yet, we do know that Romney equivocates and lies, Paul Ryan is a true believer. Mentored by Ayn Rand, Grover Norquist, Arthur Laffer, Jack Kemp, he’s unrepentant, boastful. Without compassion, this eminently average man, so full of conceit, could in the blink of an eye, become President of the United States. That needs to be considered in a straight forward manner, and soon.
We know what a Biden presidency would look like, although asking hm directly needs doing. I think we also know what a Ryan presidency would look like. Read Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged. Voters, by and large, have not been asked to consider this. It’s understandable, I’m very uneasy suggesting that they ought to be. Yet, we’re adults, and all Presidential elections are among the more important events in our lives.
Let’s then openly, though sadly, consider a Biden versus a Ryan Presidency. The gap there is wider and as deeper than the Grand Canyon.
