Romney Concedes!

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney made it clear to the entire world that he has no expectation of winning November's election by his naming Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his vice-presidential running mate.

The two main goals one hopes to achieve in a choice of running mate is either a widening of appeal for the whole ticket to a broader spectrum of voters or the addition of someone who can help make up for a perceived lack on the main candidate's part. Tapping Ryan for the job accomplishes neither of those goals. Romney's biggest deficit besides an almost complete lack of personal magnetism is the complete absence of any foreign policy experience. As a Congressman Ryan has had zero such exposure, having never even served on a committee related to foreign affairs. And while Ryan certainly has more magnetism than Romney, the only types of voters he tends to attract are those who should already be voting Republican.

This choice seems to scream that, instead of hoping to attract more independent and undecided voters, Romney is scared to death of losing the hard right-wing of the normally reliably Republican electorate. Ryan's appeal lies almost entirely among the Tea Party segment, who as a group care far less about what it takes to win an election, instead preferring neoconservative ideological purity above all else.  To be sure, if Romney had chosen someone  more palatable to independents like Tim Pawlenty there would probably have been some Tea Party party voters who would just opt out of casting any vote at all. Apparently Romney's advisers fear that level of abstention could be high enough to deny him victory in states that are usually considered comfortable wins for most Republican candidates.

Romney's choice of Ryan will seem to many people an act of capitulation to the hard right wing of the Republican party, and that translates to a perceived failure of leadership and an unwillingness to make a hard choice in the face of strong opposition. Surely his advisers must have realized that not only were the Tea Party activists championing Ryan's choice for running mate, but liberal Democrats as well were licking their chops at the prospect of such a dyed-in-the-wool ideologue as Ryan being chosen for the lower spot on the podium. In the final analysis choosing Ryan indicates Romney has given up going on the offensive against Obama and instead is playing defense to avoid an embarassing electoral landslide come November.