Paul Ryan Should Be the Ross Perot of 2012

Illustration by Kelsey Dake

By Virginia Postrel  

 

The traditional roles of a U.S. presidential running mate are ticket balancer and attack dog. With their choices of Al Gore and Dick Cheney, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush added another: the brainy policy partner with big-picture views.
Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is following that model in picking Paul Ryan. Ryan fires up the party’s base, but he’s also a policy wonk who could actually help a victorious candidate govern.