Mark Leibovich investigates the god-like status Ryan enjoys within the GOP establishment and wonders what it might mean for a Romney presidency:
Ryan told me that he envisions a vice presidency in which he oversees a vast portfolio on fiscal and economic issues. He agreed fully with the suggestion — first mentioned to me by one of his advisers — that his assignment could be the fiscal version of the role Dick Cheney played on national security after Sept. 11. "It’s a role where you take your expertise and your value-add and you apply it," Ryan said during a conversation in which he used the phrase "value-add" three times in a 60-second stretch. "My knowledge is how Congress works, how the budget works. Economic policy. That’s my value-add."
The Dish 