The most-emailed story at the New York Times Web site this morning is Maureen Dowd's column about Paul Ryan:
He's the cutest package that cruelty ever came in. He has a winning air of sad cheerfulness. He's affable, clean cut and really cut, with the Irish altar-boy widow's peak and droopy, winsome blue eyes and unashamed sentimentality.
Who better to rain misery upon the heads of millions of Americans?
He's Scrooge disguised as a Pickwick, an ideologue disguised as a wonk. Not since Ronald Reagan tried to cut the budget by categorizing ketchup and relish as vegetables has the G.O.P. managed to find such an attractive vessel to mask harsh policies with a smiling face...Ryan should stop being so lovable. People who intend to hurt other people should wipe the smile off their faces.
One could say the same things about Maureen Dowd herself...
