RUTHFULLY YOURS

Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin arrives for a town-hall meeting about his federal budget plan. Already the “shadow president,” is he the right man to be… View Enlarged Image

Republicans and independents who are serious about getting America out of debt and people back to work will do their best to convince Paul Ryan to run for president — and defeat Barack Obama.

Ryan is the genuine article, a 21st century leader with the moral strength and intellect of a true American statesman in the making. He is already the shadow president. It is he, not Barack Obama, who is providing intelligent policy initiatives and solutions for America.

He and other 21st century Republicans in the House are moving America away from the old-fashioned, big-spending government model that has so thoroughly failed — and forward toward a new model based on honest financial stewardship in Washington and a reinvigorated private-enterprise system.

Ryan and Obama are polar opposites; so are their policies. Ryan will reform and preserve Medicare, instead of imposing ObamaCare and rationing. Ryan will cut spending, instead of raising taxes. He will let the economy grow and create jobs, instead of making government bigger and the economy smaller.

The historic 2012 election will be about Obama’s big-spending big government versus Ryan’s job-creating big economy. Obama the politician will insult the voters’ intelligence by telling them his historically high levels of deficit spending are “stimulating” the economy and creating jobs.

Ryan the statesman will respectfully tell the voters the truth — that the presently high levels of government debt and spending are poisoning the economy and, if left unchecked, will ultimately destroy both it and the government.

The more government spends, the more it taxes; and the more it taxes and spends, the more the government sector displaces the private economy. There are then fewer jobs and less income to tax. When jobs and tax revenues are short, the government borrows money that it cannot repay. Finally, both the economy and the government collapse.

This is exactly the disaster that threatens America — and it will happen soon unless Ryan and his colleagues can stop Obama’s spending juggernaut.

Many Republicans have urged Paul Ryan to run for president. But he is concentrating on his duties as chairman of the Budget Committee, talking sense and fighting to rescue America from peril.

Ryan’s pulpit is more “bully” than Obama’s. The president has a bad economy and rampant joblessness wrapped round his neck — and his competence and integrity are much in question.

Ryan, on the other hand, is highly skilled and credible. When he talks about balancing the budget and saving private enterprise, he does not rely on staff-written talking points displayed on a teleprompter. Ryan is his own expert. Everyone likes and trusts him. If he runs for president and wins, he will have long political “coattails,” pulling into the Congress many new-style Republicans like himself.

Political professionals say that if Paul Ryan is to be the Republican nominee, he must run in his party’s primaries. A massive multimillion-dollar political war chest is said to be necessary for the year-long, media-driven, media-controlled election process with which America is now afflicted.

But these are extraordinary times, and Ryan is an extraordinary man. In a few months, a temporary budget deal — through 2012 — likely will be struck between the Obama administration and the Republicans. The long-term decisions about taxes, spending, debt and economic growth will then shift from Washington to the broader arena of public debate leading up to the election in November 2012.

Perhaps Paul Ryan can then be convinced to run in the Republican presidential primaries, not to chase after the presidency, but for the purpose of leading the debate and helping the American people to make informed choices.

Perhaps Ryan will be drafted to run for president in a late-starting campaign financed and carried forward by the growing number of Americans for whom he is the obvious choice. Perhaps the delegates at the Republican convention next August will salute the flag and do what is best for America — nominate Ryan by acclamation.

It may also be that Ryan will not be the Republican candidate, but will instead be recorded by history as the man who wrote the script for saving America and selflessly stood aside, enabling someone else to carry it forward to victory. One suspects that such a result would be just fine with Ryan. He has his ego well in check and his head screwed on right.

Being president of the United States is not a prize to be captured or a career opportunity to be exploited. It is, rather, a burden to be shouldered when called upon, a public trust to be fulfilled honorably and correctly, “so help me God.”

• Christian is a lawyer who served in the Treasury Department under President Ford and on President-elect Reagan’s Transition Team in 1980.