The BS up with which We'll Have to Put

I could hardly stomach listening to Ryan yesterday again exploiting Obama's saying "you didn't build that." To read the following in this morning's Politico added to my distress: "[Ryan] was forced to put himself through school when his father died...dutifully sav[ing] the Social Security benefit checks he received until his 18th birthday for college tuition at Miami University in Ohio." Even under the theory that the "contributions" his father made from his wages to the Social Security program entitled Ryan to the benefit checks, it was his father, not Ryan who paid that tuition. And, why can't we at least comment on how Ryan is, in effect, dishonoring what his father's efforts did for him by advocating privatizing Social Security? It'd be like Reid pointing out how dishonorable Romney appears in contrast to Romney's father by refusing to release more than two years worth of tax returns, and, with the six-month extension Romney took to file his 2011 tax return, we won't even be able to see that one until after October 15. Of course, the main topic following the announcement of Ryan joining the ticket is Medicare not Social Security. The media won't help Obama here either. Obama passed Obamacare without any Republican help, but, to satisfy Republican calls for reducing the budget deficits, Obamacare cut payments to Medicare providers. Republicans gained seats in the Senate and control of the House in 2010 primarily due to scaring seniors about those cuts to Medicare. Ryan's budget, in addition to calling for the conversion [and that's probably a too charitable word for it] of Medicare benefits from actual health care services to a coupon which may or may not cover the cost of those same services, would retain all of the Medicare cuts in Obamacare. Romney has not [and won't] promise to restore those Medicare cuts, even as he calls for the repeal [and replacement] of Obamacare. Romney, during the primaries, says he supports Ryan's budget. Romney picks Ryan. Romney claims he's not running on Ryan's budget but on his own. Romney won't specify how his budget differs from Ryan's. Republicans as late as this morning were still criticizing Obama for being tougher on Medicare than Romney/Ryan because of Obamacare. If you dare, watch Rich Lowry on Meet the Press be incredibly rude to Rachel Maddow, insisting she answer the question of whether she supports Obamacare's cuts to Medicare, without letting her point out that Romney/Ryan don't call for the restoration of those cuts. Oy!