Why won't Paul Ryan save the Republican Party and seize power?

Ryan was willing to be vice president, but won't sign on for speaker, a far more consequential role?

Why won't Paul
(Image credit: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Few people would have imagined, when Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Vice President Joe Biden were politely sparring at the 2012 vice presidential debate, that three years later each man's party would be pleading for him to seize the apple of power. Yet here we are: Biden is weighing the personal cost-benefits of running for the Democratic presidential nomination amid a chorus of support from Democrats nervous about Hillary Clinton's campaign, and Ryan keeps on having to say no, emphatically, to stepping up to be speaker of the House.

Is being House speaker such a terrible job? You might think so, given John Boehner's positively gleeful retirement and House Majority Kevin McCarthy's stated reason for dropping his shoo-in bid to replace Boehner: The hard-right rump of his caucus will "eat you and chew you up."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.