Â鶹ŮÓÅ

Still, several influential conservatives say Mr. Ryan, with admirers among both establishment types and hard-liners in the caucus, is the closest thing to a consensus candidate and would draw more GOP votes in the conference than anyone, including Mr. McCarthy. Mr. Ryan, 45 years old, first came to prominence in the years following the 2006 elections that drove Republicans out of power in the House. Dismayed by the party leadership’s cautious approach to changes in fiscal policy, Mr. Ryan began circulating a set of far-reaching ideas for an overhaul of federal budget, tax and entitlement programs. These proposals made him a favorite target of liberal Democrats, particularly his calls to revamp Medicare, which they argue would slash benefits. (McKinnon, 10/11)

Paul Ryan has made it abundantly clear he does not want to be speaker of the House. He enjoys the wonkery that comes with being Ways and Means chairman and believes he'd lose that as ringleader of the unwieldy Republican Conference. But there’s one remote scenario, people close to him say, in which Ryan would consider abandoning his long-laid career plans and go for the speakership: if he was the true consensus choice of the party. That means no opposition, no sniping, no acceding to demands in exchange for support. (Sherman, 10/12)