Paul Ryan looks young, reasonable, and harmless in that Dan Quayle way; especially compared to Southern Wisconsin’s other republican maestro, the bloated, 40-yr incumbent Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner.

And he’s been receiving a lot of fawning media attention lately for his proposal "A Roadmap for a New America." The anti-journalists at WKOW in Madison can’t get enough of him! And there’s talk he’s being considered for McCain’s wingman position.

But his bold, fresh fixes are nothing more than a different marketing spin on privatizing social security; health tax care credits payable into the existing scheme, and no explanation of how to pay for the tax credits; and create medical savings accounts (don’t those already exist?).

This is new conservative reform thinking?!

Columnist Bob Novak covered Ryan’s bright ideas in a recent article "Republicans drinking their own bath water."

Yes, but with a little brandy.