Influential conservative commentators Paul Gigot of
The Wall Street Journal and Fred Barnes of
The Weekly Standard are making the case for Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as a vice presidential candidate to run with presidential front-runner Mitt Romney.
“If the GOP ticket did take the White House, the 42-year-old Mr. Ryan would also be well placed to run for president in his own right,” Gigot writes. The current House Budget Committee chairman would establish himself as having gained foreign policy credentials, and might even influence Romney’s policies.
“Mr. Ryan knows more about the economy, healthcare and taxes than would nearly all presidential Cabinet officers,” Gigot says.
As for Barnes, he writes that “Ryan is the most influential thinker in the GOP on domestic and economic issues.” The Wisconsin representative adamantly refused to run for president this year, Barnes notes.
“But vice president? Romney is close to Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida has often been touted as a strong running mate. Both are from critical states. Portman is a Capitol Hill insider, Rubio an outsider skilled as a speaker. Ryan is both,” Barnes writes.
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