Today we hear the news that “new breed” up and comer Paul Ryan will be delivering the Republican response to the State of Union.

 He is a brave man to accept such an important task. But his supporters might worry the curse of the response strike again.  After all Bobby Jindal, who was talked about as a possible Presidential candidate, suffered badly after his less than spectacular performance last time out. Jindal was pilloried for his weak rebuttal. He even managed to annoy Palin with this comment. Huffington Post reported the gaff.

 “Speaking in the non-State of the Union rebuttal, the Louisiana Republican said that instead of spending $140 million "for something called 'volcano monitoring,'" Congress "should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, D.C."”

 Ryan’s selection to give the rebuttal has been greeted with positive noises. Many feel he was selected to give gravitas to the Republican efforts on reducing the deficit and spending due to his committee chairmanship as the Miami Herald observed.

 “House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, a rising Republican star who has stirred controversy with his approach to budget-cutting, will give the GOP response Tuesday to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address. The choice is aimed at showcasing the commitment of Republicans, who earlier this month took control of the House of Representatives for the first time in four years, to deficit reduction.”

 Ryan is clearly pleased with the selection and understands how important the speech is for him. The Politico reports his sober words on the subject.

 ““Delivering an address to the nation is a unique opportunity, and I am grateful to my party’s leaders for entrusting me with this responsibility,” Ryan said in a statement.”

 While maybe not as twisted as watching all the failed applicants to American Idol, there will be many in the political world viewing to see how he performs. And who knows a great performance might herald a new serious player in the 2012 Presidential nominee stakes? Will it be a poisoned chalice or a Launchpad?