Short "USA Today" Take on the RNC

The Republican National Convention is a sea-change in National Politics. The tide is turning against Big Government. For the first time ever, national political figures were not afraid to talk about entitlement reform for our entitlements, to talk about taking on public sector unions, to talk about cutting debts, deficits, and government dysfunction.

Love and respect are two complimentary and contrasting values in the public forum. Machiavelli told his princely charges that they should seek to be loved and feared, or respected. Yet if they could not be loved, then at least they should be feared. How interesting that Governor Christie's Sicilian mother, of Italian stock, would tell her son the same thing, and Christie put her advice before his party and the nation. In order to solve this nation’s problems, politicians will have to dispense with being loved, and command respect from voters and the opposition. Governor Chris Christie was correct when he drew this distinct in his Keynote Speech. His reasoning is the future of the Republican Party.

Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan has led a small delegation to take on the profligate spending eating away at our present and destroying our nation's future. GOP Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan has advanced a comprehensive reform of Medicare. Not touching benefits for current seniors, Ryan wants to offer a voucher which will permit future recipients to choose their own plan. This commands respect, even if the Democrats want to demagogue this responsible alternative by refusing to solve the problem and let the entitlement program go insolvent. Ryan commands a compelling grasp of fiscal and budgetary issues, and he has provided the most information condemning ObamaCare.

If necessary, Congressman Ryan would be more than ready to be president. He is a leader not afraid to tell people the truth about our country's broken and bankrupting fiscal policies. He knows how to make the case for comprehensive reform, even if by long-term estimates the reforms are timid.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is not a celebrity, not a star, not someone whom many expected to win the nomination. Even on the floor of the convention, Ron Paul supporters threatened a massive disruption on behalf of their "super-star" candidate. No matter how unappealing he may be, Romney is just what this country needs: a responsible politician with private sector and executive experience, who has taken failed enterprises into economic recovery.

Romney’s resume is loved by supporters and respected by critics. Romney is more than ready to be president. He already has what it takes to be a leader. Let's elect him and make him president.