Earlier today I encountered yet another insipid comment from Paul Ryan, and it occurred to me that one of the many, many ways that the Democratic party is better than the Republican party is in our selection of qualified VP candiates. Consider first the Republicans. I'll start at 1980 and give some thoughts on each:
Republicans:
1980, 1984: George H.W. Bush a qualified and experienced candidate
1998, 1992: Dan Quayle, the first of the unqualified candidates forced on to the ticket to appeal to the conservative fringe.
1996: Jack Kemp. A qualified candidate to support an honorable man, Senator Dole
2000, 2004: Dick Cheney, smart and experienced but, well, evil
2008: Sarah Palin, descent into farce driven by desparation
2012: Paul Ryan, trying to finish 10th grade Atlas Shrugged book report and pretending to wash dishes for photo ops
Democrats below the squiggle
Read More