As many people here know, there are embarrassing divorce records that Obama's opponent Jack! Ryan has been trying to keep sealed. The judge yesterday ruled that they must be released to the public, even though the publicity is very likely to have a negative effect on Ryan's son.
An article from the Chicago Tribune says that Ryan has begun warning GOP supporters that there will be fallout:
In recent days, Ryan had begun warning leading Republicans that he expected embarrassing information about him would be contained in documents that the judge ordered released, sources close to Ryan's campaign said. Yet, Ryan also said he believed that he could weather any disclosures, the sources said.
Those warnings were in sharp contrast to statements made during his successful Republican primary campaign against seven opponents. Shortly before the March election, when he was asked by reporters whether the GOP should be worried about anything under seal in the divorce file, Ryan replied: "I don't think so. I've been very open about everything that voters could possibly have interest in."
The records will be released on June 29.
Of course this is very bad news for Ryan and the Republicans here, but this morning on the local NPR affiliate I heard a GOP leader say that they had "contingency plans" in mind in case the records prove to be fatal to Ryan's chances in the election. I haven't heard anything about who a ticket replacement may be, but the Republicans are clearly making plans for a switch.