A 2016 presidential run by Rep. Paul Ryan is under speculation by pundits already looking forward to a long campaign season. There is mixed response to Mitt Romney's former running mate, who has only tepidly answered calls that he will be the next man to bring the GOP plan to the White House:
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Karl Rove: "The GOP’s leading theorist and 2012 vice-presidential nominee, Rep. Paul Ryan, can rewrite the tax code as Ways and Means chairman or run for president, but not both."
Glenn Kessler: Calling out Paul Ryan as one of the biggest "Pinocchios" of 2014: "Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., equating school lunches to an 'empty soul,' told an evocative and supposedly true story about an official who spoke to a boy who had rejected a school lunch because he wanted one in a brown bag. 'A kid with a brown-paper bag had someone who cared for him,' the boy supposedly said.
"But it turned out Ryan’s source for the story had borrowed it from a book — and the boy, now grown, tries to connect hungry kids with federal programs such as school lunches and food stamps. He even opposes Ryan’s budget plans. Oops. Ryan later said he regretted failing to verify the tall tale."
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David Brooks: "Paul Ryan has a great campaign consciousness, and, when it comes to things like Medicare reform, I agree with him. But when he voted no on the Simpson-Bowles plan he missed the chance to show that he also has a governing consciousness. He missed the chance to do something good for the country."
Peggy Noonan: "Normally, Republican candidates for national office get to be either stupid or evil. That’s how the media and Democrats tag them. But they won’t be able to tag Paul Ryan as either, because he’s too well known as smart and decent."
Paul Grier: "Ryan has enough of a cushion of support to be able to withstand some deterioration in his position with tea party groups and still be a top 2016 contender."
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