Remember this when you wonder why he did not run for president and why he did not initially seek the speaker’s office.

He is also a fisherman, a special kind of commando fisherman – a noodler.  A noodler catches fish with his bare hands, using himself as bait.

Ryan lured the speaker's gavel to him.  He struck a propitious pose in the People’s Pond and waited for the gavel to grab his formidable fist.  Then he hoisted it from the water, as Arthur once held Excalibur, as Harry Potter once wielded Gryffindor’s sword.

It was a proud-making moment.  Did you see the look on Mitt’s face as Mini Mitt gripped Thor’s hammer?!

Paul Ryan is my hero.  So I’m saying extra prayers for him.  This is no ordinary era.  The odds of Boehnering are high.  But he holds so much hope.  So much hope.