From: Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Chair, DNC

Re: Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan

We are shocked and appalled at Governor Romney’s choice of Rep. Paul Ryan for Vice President. Rep. Ryan is a choice that demonstrates how out of touch Governor Romney is with regular Americans. Paul Ryan has extreme views on the economy and labor collective bargaining rights, exemplified by his so-called Road to Prosperity and support of extremist Governor Scott Walker. 

Rep. Ryan doesn’t have the mettle to be President. He does not have the experience, nor the mettle to be Vice President, as his experience is limited to congress where he clearly demonstrated incompetence in his handling of the budget. Keep in mind, under his leadership, we have not had a budget in over 1000 days. Having only attended Miami of Ohio, Rep. Ryan clearly does not have the academic pedigree to take up the job of Vice President. Nor does Paul Ryan have the sensitivity towards working Americans, as evidenced by recently vacationing in Colorado. Rep. Ryan does not have a world class temperament, as seen when he described President Obama as delusional, saying, “He’s deluded himself into thinking that his so-called enemies are these crazy individualists who believe in some dog-eat-dog society when what he’s really doing is basically attacking people like entrepreneurs and stacking up a list of scapegoats to blame for his failures.”

Furthermore, Governor Romney clearly picked Rep. Ryan because Paul Ryan is a member of Generation X, and as such, the first Gen X candidate for VP. Despite this, Paul Ryan is an extremist that does not speak for all Gen Xer’s. 

Americans of good-will with diverse points of view will all agree that experience, intelligence, sensitivity and temperment are all qualities required of a Vice President. Clearly Paul Ryan is not such an individual. 

The selection of a Vice Presidental candidate is the first window into the type of incompetent, out of touch and insensitive decisions that Governor Romney will make as President, which is why the only clear choice for office is President Barack Obama.