From ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Peggy Noonan manages to downright embarrass herself with this ridiculous statement, but what else is new? Nooners apparently thinks that if Mittens new running mate Paul Ryan just gets out there and does some interviews, stat, Democrats won't have a chance to define him in campaign ads. And he'd never do anything to hurt grandma. How could he when he looks like such a nice young man?
NOONAN: What Ryan ought to be doing is going out there, I think now, and showing himself in very long and thoughtful interviews and talking about exactly what he thinks and why and what his intentions are. [...] Let the American people look at him literally over the next few days so that when the Dems come with Demiscare and he'll take -- Grandma is being thrown off the train or off the sled or whatever the metaphor is [...] think, my goodness, he doesn't look like the type of young man who would throw Grandma off the sled.
I guess Noonan thinks that one, he's going to say anything different than what he's already been saying in interview after interview for the last fourteen years or so now. And two, that if he does, it would matter since we've got, you know, these modern day things called recording devices.
I'm not sure what they're paying Noonan in wingnut welfare to appear on these shows, but if it's more than a penny, it's too much.
Full transcript of the clip above below the fold.
STEPHANOPOULOS: ... let me just pose the question, because I want to jump off that, gets to the point that you were making, as well. We saw with all the ads that came out this week before the pick, you know, on the one hand, the Priorities USA ad, which accuses basically or suggests that someone died as a result of Mitt Romney's decisions. You had the Romney campaign ad which clearly went farther in suggesting that President Obama is gutting the work requirements in welfare than the facts, I think, would allow.
Is it going to be possible with this -- it seems like, Cokie, that the campaigns care less and less about what fact-checkers say about their ads.
ROBERTS: Oh, they could care less. They've absolutely have decided that it's clear that they're just going to run with it, and the fact-checkers, you know, can have a ball, but who cares? And that's what the companies are doing, and then, of course, Ryan gives more opportunity to do that.
But I do think that this whole sense that Governor Dean talked about, that -- that -- do people really believe that Romney is going to be good for them? That's going to be something that's going to be very, very hard to get passed in these ads...
STEPHANOPOULOS: How does he -- how does he do that?
GIGOT: Well, I think he has to talk about specifics. He has to talk about the nature of his tax plan. He has to talk about what he's going to do on specific policy areas and say, this is how it's going to affect you. And if he can do that, I think that's what -- one of the things the convention is for.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Isn't it -- isn't it something, Peggy, a little more personal? He seems to have a personal problem with the electorate right now. It's his personal unfavorability that is so high that puts him in the position of not being able to close this gap.
NOONAN: Are you talking Romney?
STEPHANOPOULOS: Romney.
NOONAN: I don't know. He looked pretty great yesterday on the stump.
(CROSSTALK)
NOONAN: No, I've got to tell you, he's coming alive a little bit. I mean, that piece I wrote said fight. Whoa, he was full of fight yesterday and having a -- having a good time. It seems to me, though, that with Ryan, one thing -- I'm thinking the Democrats are saying, "Kill this guy quick. Don't let him make a good impression over the next few minutes or week. We've got to get him now." That means they are going to demagogue and Mediscare. It seems to me...
ROBERTS: Joe Biden -- Joe Biden called him up to congratulate him, and they actually like each other.
(CROSSTALK)
NOONAN: But they're likable men.
ROBERTS: But then, you know, uh-oh, wait, wait, but I'm not endorsing him.
(CROSSTALK)
NOONAN: What Ryan ought to be doing is going out there, I think now, and showing himself in very long and thoughtful interviews and talking about exactly what he thinks and why and what his intentions are.
GIGOT: That's exactly right.
NOONAN: Let the American people look at him literally over the next few days so that when the Dems come with Demiscare and he'll take -- Grandma is being thrown off the train or off the sled or whatever the metaphor is...
(CROSSTALK)
NOONAN: ... think, my goodness, he doesn't look like the type of young man who would throw Grandma off the sled.
NEWSOM: By the way, the grandma piece was not done by the Obama campaign, for that record. That said...
(CROSSTALK)
NEWSOM: It's an important point.
(CROSSTALK)
NEWSOM: Nor was the, quote, unquote, "ad" that never appeared on television done by the Obama campaign that Romney's so indignant about. But, yes, the welfare ad, they spent close to $8 million, and the campaign did support that ad.
That being said, look, this has been a negative campaign. All campaigns are negative. We always get outraged of the other side's political tactics. It's hardly a news story that this campaign's been going in that direction.
That said, I don't think this -- this Mediscare and all this, just tell the facts. The facts should scare the heck out of folks. And when people hear the facts about the Ryan budget, it's not going to go well for the Romney-Ryan...
