by Patrick Appel
Kornacki contends that "the electoral implications of the Ryan pick will extend well beyond November":
[E]ven if Ryan’s budget proves an albatross for Romney and the GOP ticket goes down, it’s not hard to see conservatives rationalizing away the defeat: The problem was Romney couldn’t sell the message – that’s why the next time we need Ryan at the top of the ticket! They’ve believed for a few years now that Ryan-ism should be their party’s future, and [Saturday's] announcement is a major step toward making it so.
Paul Waldman has the same thought:
Winning three consecutive presidential terms is very hard. It has only happened once since 1948, when George H.W. Bush beat Michael Dukakis in 1988. No matter how well things are going, the public eventually gets around to giving the other side a chance. And Paul Ryan just became the most likely 2016 Republican nominee.
Using history as a guide, Nate Silver calculates "about a 15 percent chance of Mr. Ryan someday becoming president." But Ryan's odds are much better if Romney wins than if he loses.
The Dish 