On Wednesday night, the country got its first wide-eyed look at Paul Ryan, as the Republican vice presidential nominee took to the stage to lay out criticism of President Obama's tenure in office. He said that he and Mitt Romney would solve the nation's economic problems, problems that Barack Obama has been unable to do after four years.
But his speech was marred by flat-out inaccuracies.
One example: The speech stated that the president was responsible for the country's credit rating being downgraded last summer. In fact, it was Ryan's house colleagues who were culpable).
He criticized Obama for not acccepting the Bowles-Simpson deficit-cutting plan — a plan that Ryan voted against.
Most contentious was the charge that Obama was responsible for the closing of a GM plant in Janesville, Iowa. Ryan said that Obama visited the plant during the 2008 campaign and vowed it would stay open. However, the plant closed during George W. Bush's tenure in office.
But his speech had its moments.
This article appears in Aug 30 – Sep 5, 2012.