Ryans Path To Power Similar To Obamas

Politico has a must-read piece on how Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) catapulted ahead of a generation of politicians to the top of the Republican party.

“In Ryan’s case, say people who have worked closely with him, they are the result of a years-long effort to cultivate relationships with a small but influential corps of commentators, policy intellectuals, and impresarios of the conservative movement.”

“Ryan invites these people to off-the-record dinner briefings to talk about ideas and his policy proposals. He calls them to say how much he liked their articles. He attends their going-away parties and hires young people from their staffs. Above all, he has made clear that he takes these people seriously and wants to be taken seriously by them.”

Examples:

One good way to understand how 42-year-old Paul Ryan vaulted over a generation of politicians into the top tier of national Republican politics is to dive into some numbers.

One hundred ninety times. That’s how often the Wisconsin lawmaker’s name appeared in the opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal between Election Day 2008 — when a Republican rout at the polls left the conservative intelligentsia urgently looking for a new star — and the day this month when Mitt Romney tapped Ryan his running mate.

Another revealing number: Ryan and his plans for overhauling the federal budget drew at least 72 mentions in the conservative Weekly Standard magazine, according to a POLITICO count. There were at least as many references in the equally influential National Review.

These billings, in turn, helped Ryan drive an even bigger number: 1,050 is how many times Ryan and the Ryan budget were talked up on Fox News.

Source:  The making of Paul Ryan