This is an example of one of the opportunities I think the RR team is missing. Sometimes it seems like GOP marketing people forget that most of the electorate works in sound bytes – most voters do not study the issues nor the candidates in very much depth, if any. This is extremely unfortunate, but nevertheless true. Putting out the message of 14% REAL unemployment would force the Dems to either (1) accept the message by being very quiet and not challenging it (not likely) or (2) “defend” it by stating the number isn’t official because it includes (the very real story of) people who have given up finding a job, regardless of not having an unemployment check. If nothing else, this would give us and the whole topic more airtime on the free MSM that the other side certainly takes advantage of. (and perhaps dispense with all of the Aiken/abortion talk?)

Another opportunity I think the RR team is missing is the Medicare “who cuts more $$” back and forth. This is a very complicated issue that I think is confusing a lot of people, especially older citizens. It needs to be stated over and over and over that Medicare goes bankrupt in 12 years – which means if you (or your parents/grandparents) are receiving those benefits now and will still be alive in 12 years – nothing there. Big zero. What happens then? AND then point out that the Dems have NO plan on the table to change that – and, as a matter of fact, the $7 billion they take out to fund Obamacare actually makes this worse! That can be said very plainly in a simple language and in a sound byte.

Ryan is extremely intelligent and a great economic guy. As a generally pretty well informed conservative and someone who does numbers and finance for a living, I am thrilled that he is on the ticket. But I do worry that he speaks fast and sometimes over the heads of less-educated, less-informed people who operate on sound bytes. I do consulting work in the area of Public Involvement for transportation projects. We generally follow the rule when publishing newsletters or preparing presentations to write at a 7th grade level. I spend a lot of my time re-writing technical information from engineers and scientists in shorter sentences and smaller words. Simplify. Simplify. Simplify.