Paul Ryan is on the front page...

...of the Times today in an article titled, "As Ryan Carries Budget Flag, G.O.P. Salutes," in the print edition, and, "Ryan's Rise From Follower to G.O.P. Trailblazer," online. Either way, this guy's running for something. 

How do I know? Because Ryan tries -- again -- to dispel the "urban legend" that he is a disciple of Ayn Rand's. But this is a classic case of political spin. As the article says (all emphasis mine): 

In a 2009 Facebook video, Mr. Ryan said the “kind of thinking” in the Rand epics “The Fountainhead” and “Atlas Shrugged” was “sorely needed right now.” 

2009! 

And, lest we forget, there was this in the New Republic: 

Representative Paul Ryan, also of Wisconsin, requires staffers to read "Atlas Shrugged," describes Obama’s economic policies as “something right out of an Ayn Rand novel,” and calls Rand “the reason I got involved in public service.”
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"The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand," Ryan said at a D.C. gathering four years ago honoring the author of "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead." ...
  
At the Rand celebration he spoke at in 2005, Ryan invoked the central theme of Rand's writings when he told his audience that, "Almost every fight we are involved in here on Capitol Hill ... is a fight that usually comes down to one conflict--individualism versus collectivism."

This guy spoke at a "Rand celebration" in 2005? But he's not a "fan?" Come on.