From the Weekly Standard’s John McCormack:
“I spent an hour with Romney on Thursday,” Ryan says. The two talked about entitlements on Capitol Hill. “I think he gets the situation, and I think he’s serious about fixing it if elected. I think Perry’s the same way. I know Herman’s the same way.”
But what about Romneycare? Ryan has said Romneycare is “not that dissimilar to Obamacare.” Is Ryan “intellectually dishonest,” as New Jersey governor Chris Christie said of those who claim the two programs are similar?
“Well, I guess from a federalism standpoint, I understand that point,” Ryan says with a laugh. He doesn’t back off of his judgment about Romneycare, but says the issue is irrelevant. “I don’t think this question matters that much anymore because Romney’s been very clear that he’s against Obamacare and he’s going to repeal it. So I for a second don’t worry about whether he’s going to shy away from repealing the president’s health care law.”
Ryan praises the rest of the field, commending Perry for proposing a pro-growth flat-tax and crediting Herman Cain for encouraging his rivals to offer bold plans. Ryan says he’s even on good terms with Newt Gingrich, who called Ryan’s reform “right-wing social engineering” on Meet the Press last spring.
Full piece here.