Fox News continued to fawn over Congressman Paul Ryan today, with host Megyn Kelly pushing the conservative narrative that Ryan is not only ideologically similar to former President Ronald Reagan, he also looks and sounds like him. For effect, Fox aired this side-by-side picture of the two.
During the segment on America Live, Kelly claimed that Ryan's “conservative ideas, his optimism, even his language have been compared to that of the former president,” adding: “You may be able to discern why.” Kelly then aired a montage splicing together quotes by both men that purported to show the likeness between Ryan and Reagan:
REAGAN: “In this present crisis government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.”
RYAN: “My dad died when I was young. He was a good and decent man. There are a few things he would say that have just always stuck with me. He'd say, son, you're either part of the problem or part of the solution. Well, regrettably, President Obama has become part of the problem and Mitt Romney is the solution.”
REAGAN: “Without God, there is a coarsening of the society. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”
RYAN: “America is more than just a place, though. America is an idea. It's the only country founded on an idea. Our rights come from nature and God, not from government.”
To further reinforce this idea, Kelly then interviewed Reagan's son, conservative radio host and frequent Fox guest Michael Reagan, who gave the Reagan seal of approval:
REAGAN: You know, it's really iffy. You can really tell the difference between somebody who just talks about Ronald Reagan, of which there are many, and those who have really studied Ronald Reagan. Paul Ryan is one of those people who studied Ronald Reagan, but also grew up in the Midwest, just like Ronald Reagan.
Fox has repeatedly pushed this comparison: The day Mitt Romney announced Ryan as his running mate, host Andrea Tantaros called Ryan “very Reaganesque,” while contributor KT MacFarland cheered the Romney-Ryan ticket as “like Reagan again.”