CSotD: Palin Redux
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Tom Tomorrow probes the lack of substance behind Paul Ryan's declared passion for Ayn Rand. Ryan has said that "Atlas Shrugged" is required reading for his staff, and he has given people copies of the book as Christmas presents, an improbable choice of ways to celebrate the Lord's birth that readily plays into the "say what?" element of his comprehension of Rand, Christ, both or neither.
The above bit of vivisection not only reveals his shallow view of Rand, but ends with Thomas Aquinas questioning his grasp of Catholicism in a delightful tip of the hat to a similar piece of conceptual disembowellment.
It's a brilliant strip, and why shouldn't it be? There is a lot of "say what?" growing around Paul Ryan.
He was supposed to bring a certain specificity and focus to the disturbingly nebulous "Vote for me! I'm not Obama!" campaign, but the first thing he did was to disavow the budget plan that allegedly made that contribution, saying that it was Mitt's campaign and Mitt's vision and that he was just there … well … in case Mitt had to go to the bathroom or something.
He is certainly a cooperative chap, a factor Keith Knight deals with in the current (th)Ink panel:
Now, according to his high school yearbooks, he was also a varsity athlete, made prom court and was junior class president, so apparently he wasn't totally unlikeable. But "biggest brown nose" is revealing of something or other, and it may be a willingness to "go along in order to get along," as Sam Rayburn's rule requires.
But go along in order to get along in what direction? To achieve what goal?
Rayburn's Rule is generally cited as part of the story of LBJ, a Rayburn disciple who was a son of a bitch with a vision. The more Ryan is revealed, the more he seems like a nice young man who lets things just fall out of his mouth because he feels they will make him popular.
Maybe that worked back in Janesville, and you might even get away with being a likeable, superficial doofus in the House, as long as you keep a low enough profile.
But, kid, this is the Big Leagues. And, just as in the case of the last likeable, photogenic Republican candidate for the vice-presidency, it's time to step into the goldfish bowl and show what you've got.
Which means that, if someone asks you what your favorite rock group is, you need to think it over before answering "Rage Against the Machine,"
(A) because your natural constituency would rather you cited "The Captain and Tennille" or possibly "Lynyrd Skynyrd," and has never heard of "Rage Against the Machine," and
(B) because "Rage Against the Machine" has heard of you, and so it's not unlikely that, after they hear you declare your devotion to them, a graphic like this is going to emerge on Facebook:
And it's not just about rock music.
When you decide to personalize an attack on Obama for a speech, that's a good idea, certainly. But if you simply add local citations as if it were a game of Mad Libs, somebody is going to notice, and you shouldn't create a situation where people can make you look like a jackass by simply pointing out what you've said:
Come on, man. You were supposed to bring the substance, not make Mitt look good by comparison.
Still, I think there is also an important message that the Democrats need to hear often between now and November: Don't get too comfortable.
Have some fun, sure.
But tamp down your glee with a little historical perspective. You thought this was pretty funny, too.
And yet he did.
You might want to keep that in mind.
Mike Peterson has posted his "Comic Strip of the Day" column every day since 2010. His opinions are his own, but we welcome comments either agreeing or in opposition.
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