Politics: The Promise-Keeper

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Politics The Promise-Keeper Paul Ryan's successfully vague campaign to promise "current seniors" the moon. By David Weigel Posted Monday, Aug 20, 2012, at 11:13 PM ET One of the pure joys of campaign reporting is the "headlines" e-mail. When a candidate has a particularly good day—a killer debate, a speech that goes off with no falling lights or flags—journalists get a missive from the campaign that runs through the bedazzled takes of your peers. The subtext is this: Why haven't you written your story about how fantastic we're doing? On Saturday, shortly after Rep. Paul Ryan spoke at The Villages in Florida, the Romney campaign sent out no fewer than 14 incredible headlines. "Nothing but Cheers for Paul Ryan's Medicare Plan at The Villages," reported the Tampa Bay Times. (The planned community, where souped-up golf carts dominate the roads, is a Republican stronghold.) "Ryan Campaigns With Mother, Vows To Protect Medicare for Seniors," reported the Hill. And so on. The point of all this: proving that the first "Medi-scare" battle of the election is ending and that Republicans have fought it to a draw. Ryan got his message down to a zinger, and repeated it all week. "We want this debate," he said. "We need this debate. And we will win this debate." It just depends what the meaning of this is. To keep on winning the Medicare debate, Ryan needs to please three groups of people. They are: conservative voters who are fine with any Medicare scale-back, conservatives who are fine with any Medicare reforms that don't affect them, and swing voters who aren't sure what they want ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Most Dangerous Game Why You Should Start Watching  Boss Curiosity's Dirty Little Secret	Advertisement
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