To hear most people tell it, Rep. Paul Ryan had a rough night. The Wisconsin Republican's controversial budget plan -- in particular its plan to turn Medicare into a voucher-based system -- became the focal point of the special election in New York's traditionally Republican 26th congressional district, which flipped to Democratic hands last night with Kathleen Hochul's upset victory. As you'd expect, Ryan's budget and reputation have taken significant dings, and he really needed a friend this morning. Enter Fox & Friends.

Fox News' morning show can always be relied upon for some bubbly and poisonous right-wing propaganda, but their treatment of Ryan this morning was a special kind of disgrace, even for a news outlet that's largely given up on pretending to be “fair and balanced.” Steve Doocy set the table by asking Ryan for his thoughts on how the Democrats have turned his plan “to fix Medicaid, Medicare” into a “bogeyman”:

And then Gretchen Carlson came through with the topper, asking Ryan to comment on how courageous he is -- “isn't this all about the fact that ... no politician has ever gone where you have gone before?”

When you're down, that's the kind of affirmation you need. Good job, news network.