Either Paul Ryan wants it or does not want it. But the revelations of just how badly others want Paul Ryan to want it is a damning indictment of the political class.

I expect at a minimum some of these pundits will start mailing their Depends to Paul Ryan. It is a logical extension of their fanboy zeal to make a man Speaker who does not want to be Speaker. They rationalize that this means he will make an excellent Speaker when, in reality, it means he’ll resent those who put him there, be perceived as bought and paid for, and suggest that he is John Boehner’s weaker sister who can be more easily bullied, but also must be more heavily protected.

They’ll say he is doing it for the good of the country when, in reality, he would have never had to be pressured into it if it was for the good of the country. Well, that or he has really bad instincts on what is for the good of the country. Either way this whole thing with the begging and pleading is starting to look pathetic and highly, highly self-interested.