Yes, that's what I meant; it's the usual phrase. It's an important issue, for many, whether a Presidential or VP candidate is a vet. Romney isn't, neither are his children. Ryan is not and his children are too young.
It’s barely an issue. As I said, but for WWII President Reagan would’ve never been in the military. Calvin Coolidge was never in the military. Lincoln was nominally in the militia.
Excerpt:
April 26, 2012
Rep. Paul Ryan discusses his Catholic faith and his budget at Georgetown University
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House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) recent comments — that his budget was inspired by his Catholic faith — has proven controversial.
Thursday morning, Ryan sought to clarify his comments, delivering a speech titled, “America’s Enduring Promise,” at the Georgetown University Public Policy Institute’s 2012 Whittington Lecture.
Here is a key excerpt which specifically addresses how his faith influences his politics:
… Of course there can be differences among faithful Catholics on this.
The work I do as a Catholic holding office conforms to the social doctrine as best I can make of it. What I have to say about the social doctrine of the Church is from the viewpoint of a Catholic in politics applying my understanding to the problems of the day.
Serious problems like those we face today require charitable conversation. Civil public dialogue goes to the heart of solidarity, the virtue that does not divide society into classes and groups but builds up the common good of all.
The overarching threat to our whole society today is the exploding federal debt. The Holy Father, Pope Benedict, has charged that governments, communities, and individuals running up high debt levels are “living at the expense of future generations” and “living in untruth.”
We in this country still have a window of time before a debt-fueled economic crisis becomes inevitable. We can still take control before our own needy suffer the fate of Greece. How we do this is a question for prudential judgment, about which people of good will can differ.
If there was ever a time for serious but respectful discussion, among Catholics as well as those who don’t share our faith, that time is now.
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Exerpt:
It’s a pay-as-you-go system where earlier investors, or, say, taxpayers, get a positive rate of return... and later investors, or taxpayers, get a negative rate of return,” he said, according to a partial transcript. “And so ... that is how those schemes work. The point is, unless you fix this problem, it’s going to get much worse.”
And how would Ryan make Social Security financially sustainable? By gradually raising the eligibility age, tying the benefits for more wealthy recipients to inflation and offering workers under the age of 55 the option of investing some of their taxes into personal retirement accounts.
Say what you will about Ryan’s willingness to take on sacrificial lambs, he is not shy about pushing controversial proposals — and that’s a rarity in Washington.
“He is a guy without guile, without pretense. He likes to hang out with actuaries for relaxation,” conservative commentator and CNN analyst Bill Bennett said in an interview. Ryan worked for Bennett at Empower America.
And there’s more to Ryan than the D.C. wonk. He’s also a hunter who can target elk with a bow and arrow. And he’s an exercise buff — when in Washington, he works out each morning with some of his congressional colleagues using a grueling fitness routine called P90X. One favorite pastime: trekking the Colorado Rockies.
His devotion to fitness was spurred by the early death of his father at age 55 when Ryan was 16.
“I basically had to learn to sink and swim,” he recalled. “I did a lot of growing up very fast. And it made me take stock of who I am, what kind of person I want to be. It made me, I would say, very initiative-prone — live life to its fullest because you never know how long it is going to last.”
Ryan was pushed again this summer to run for the Republican presidential nomination by assorted GOP luminaries. His answer: No, not yet.
“I think there are other good people who can do this job,” he told CNN. “But there are not other good people who can raise my kids.”
You’re just upset because you know you and the Bamster are going to lose. Ryan will wipe the floor with lunch bucket Joe in a debate.