[redgolum]

Ryan was an odd pick. For one thing, he will split the Catholic vote. Remember Ryan got blasted for his budget by the Catholic Bishops. Many Catholics turned against Obama because of the HHS mandate, and now I have seen some who will either not vote or vote for Obama because of Ryan.

Not a bad pick, but not a wise one strategically.

[lasereye]

Remember Ryan got blasted for his budget by the Catholic Bishops. Many Catholics turned against Obama because of the HHS mandate, and now I have seen some who will either not vote or vote for Obama because of Ryan.

I'm not a Catholic but from what I know of Catholic doctrine what some bishops say about Medicare and forcing Catholic institutions to pay for abortion and contraception are not on the same plane. The latter seems to involve violating official Catholic doctrines. The former is just some opinion of some bishops about something. And I would add it's something about which they don't know much. Do not practicing Catholics understand the difference?

I recall the eighties when the bishops demanded a "nuclear freeze", implicitly attacking Reagan. And the bishops didn't understand what they were talking about there either, as history attests. You can't equate basic moral issues with complex economic and defense/technology issues. The latter require some expertise which these bishops do not possess. The fact is these bishops don't understand their own limitations. They should have learned their lesson from their nuclear freeze nonsense.