I’ve never understood the appeal of Paul Ryan, but he does seem like the only person approximating a unifying leader of the Republican Party. I wish I had a better overall feel for the kind of people who are getting selected as delegates to the Republican convention, but I have the sense that they’ll be influenced enough by congressmembers who overwhelmingly hate Ted Cruz that they could abandon both Cruz and Trump. I know John Kasich hopes to be the fallback person in that scenario, but Ryan seems like a better fit.
It won’t be easy to grease the skids for a nominee who hasn’t run in a single primary, though, and the ace in the hole for Trump and Cruz could be some kind of collusion to restrict the delegates’ choices to one or the other of them.
Trying to game out the convention is impossible at the moment. There just isn’t enough transparency to know what kind of power Trump and Cruz will ultimately have over the process.
I definitely see the appetite for someone like Ryan, though, if the Establishment can pull it off. But could Ryan run for his House seat and the presidency at the same time? You can do that in some states, but not in others.
Either way, I guess a lot of people like Paul Ryan. It mystifies me.
