Ryan Streeter
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Well, we tried. All along, we knew there would be big hurdles standing in the way of a Paul Ryan candidacy for the White House in 2012. But we also saw the great opportunity before him and held out hope he'd jump in.
But it's not to be. At least in 2012. And we have to respect the decision of a man who knows what he's called to do.
Back in May, upon getting word that Mitch Daniels was not going to run, I wrote that it was time to draft Ryan. With Daniels out, it seemed there was only one person who could bring the moral seriousness we needed to confront our nation's biggest challenges into the 2012 presidential race, and that was Ryan.
Soon after, we launched our Draft Paul Ryan initiative, which was well-received and complemented by the launch of a Students for Ryan initiative. Readers from across the country wrote in with heartfelt words of encouragement, asking/telling/pleading with Ryan to run.
Thank you to all who expressed not just words of support but offered to help, write checks, and volunteer if Ryan were to get into the race.
Two closing thoughts:
- The decision is ultimately good for the mission to which Ryan has been called. As Steve Hayes writes today, Ryan sees himself more as a Jack Kemp to the next Reagan, than Reagan himself. If Ryan ran for President, lots of different scenarios could play out. But one thing would be for sure, and that's that the Budget Committee wouldn't have someone as committed to reform as Ryan at the helm. Only having him win both the nomination and the election would be better than that, and the odds against it are of course steeper than him continuing to shape the debate from where he is.
- Ryan's time may still come. As everyone's been saying, Ryan is young (all along, I've held that to be a virtue, not a vice). Though the times seem to be calling him right now, they may be calling him even more in 2016 or 2020. He'll still be young then.
Although not surprising, it is still extremely disappointing that Cong. Ryan will not run. So disappointing is it that - were the election held today (or anytime soon) -- my vote would be 'None of the above'.
Kurt Waltz
Scottsdale, AZ
Posted by: Kurt E. Waltz | August 23, 2011 at 09:31 AM