Why does the freaking media treat Paul Ryan like he's Friedrich Hayek or Carl Menger?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

He is a party functionary with a bachelor's degree in economics and political Science from Miami University.

[mcar]

1. Drives me crazy

He's nothing but a political hack.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

3. Intelligent Republican is an oxymoron.

[mcar]

5. Yes

"He's a policy wonk!" "He's the intellectual of the House!"

He's a sideshow barker.

[Cicada]

2. Half their audience are repubs

And they need to display respect for at least some Repub leaders. Ryan is pathetic, phony and creepy, but he is still about the best Repubs have.

[tblue37]

4. The media swallow the narratives provided by the Republicans, and once the narrative

has been put out there, lazy journos simply parrot it ad nauseum.

[gademocrat7]

6. He is a smarmy jerk.

[Jonny Appleseed]

7. He was constantly photographed standing next to charts and graphs for the entirety of 2012

It's like Rick Perry's smart glasses. Lingering connotations from the Romney campaign too.

[C_U_L8R]

8. Next time he blathers about Republican Principles

.... to the moon.

[jrthin]

9. Because In The Land Of ...

The blind, the one-eye man in king. The press really is not that bright, consequently, to them. Paul, aka kid dracula's, is bright.

[DefenseLawyer]

10. If Hayek is supposed to be your example of a brilliant conservative

I'm afraid I don't know anyone that isn't a wingnut that still holds him in much esteem.

[smirkymonkey]

11. I would love to see him go up against Al Franken.

Al would wipe the floor with his ass.

[spanone]

12. he's inept at best.

fuggim.

this was his moment and he BLEW IT.

[meadowlander]

13. Doesn't take much to be the leading intellectual light of the Republican party.

Look at the competition.

[anglesphere]

14. I don't really think much of Hayek

I don't know who Menger is. If he's a capitalist how good can he be?

[sharedvalues]

15. Because media until recently believed in silly balance

Because the media thinks that they must give both sides of an issue equal play. (And this policy is hurting American democracy -- the media should report the facts even if one side is telling falsehoods.)

It's what can be called "flat-earth journalism" -- if one side said the earth was flat, the press would say "Republicans say earth is flat: others disagree".

So the media believes they have to find Republican leaders and pretend they know as much about policy as the democrats do.