IT'S CALLED LEGISLATING:

The continual theme of Ryan's legislative career has been a willingness to accept risks that would make more conventional politicians blanch. His budget proposals have widely been considered politically rash for the Republican Party -- pollsters, aides and commentators have told him that both publicly and privately.

When Republicans were in the minority, his attitude seemed to be that his party leadership be damned. He was determined to forth his proposals regardless of how few people signed on with him. GOP leaders sometimes responded in kind, distancing themselves from Ryan. He cheerfully shrugged his shoulders and kept moving.

But Ryan is not a full-time maverick, a reality that has been made clear since Republicans took back the House in the 2010 midterm elections. When House GOP leaders Boehner and Eric Cantor tell members they need to stand firm to party-line votes, Ryan is right there. And when leaders have tried to squeeze budget deals through the House -- even deals with which Ryan could find plenty of nits to pick -- he's kept his reservations to himself.

It is a combination of ideological advocacy and step-in-line loyalty that Romney, who is himself just getting to know Ryan, apparently found quite attractive.

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