Harry Reid's former aide mocks Paul Ryan for 'fluff and glitz' appeal

Because [integrating himself with powerful and influential people] includes the press, [Ryan's] credentials for speaker were widely accepted as a given. Few asked whether he really had the skills. That's a generalization — in private, many reporters questioned whether Ryan was up to the job. But there was little public questioning. In the hierarchy of skills for a successful Hill leader, public salesman ranks relatively low. For Ryan, it was a main selling point. Many of the stories about why Ryan would be a good speaker cited the fact that he would go on TV a lot. That should have been a red flag. A leader's most valuable resource is time, and TV is time-consuming. It's less time spent listening to members, organizing, planning [...] Ryan's appeal for a VERY HARD job was always based on fluff and glitz, not a record of leadership or accomplishment or requisite skills. [Twitter]