Since his identification as Romney's running mate, I have several times heard a certain narrative about Paul Ryan being advanced - that he is a self-made man who had to overcome the tragedy of losing his father early. Attached to this I have heard the phrase,"pulled himself up by his bootstraps." Here is one example, without the bootstraps part: http://www.thedailybeast.com/... , and from the Daily Beast which is not particularly friendly to Romney/Ryan. I know I heard it previously over the last day - that Ryan's father died at an early age, said in a way to suggest that that caused him great economic hardship.
However, I am wondering about the accuracy of that picture.
His father was a lawyer. His grandfather founded Ryan Incorporated Central, a construction business which according to its website ( http://www.ryancentral.com/... ) is now "one of the nation's premier mass excavation and sitework contractors."
It is regrettable that he lost his father at an early age. Thank goodness there was Social Security to help him out.
But if Mika starts advancing the narrative this morning, talking about Ryan pulling himself up by the bootstraps, I will reserve judgment about that story, until there is more evidence that that bootstrap story is a central fact rather than a PR fabrication. Maybe he reached his position more thanks to his coming from a wealthy family, than because he pulled himself up by his bootstraps.