Ryan on DeLay -- then and now

OK, one more idea about why Tom DeLay might have thought Paul Ryan would be willing to say something nice about him at Thursday night's dinner.

Back when DeLay was first getting into some trouble in the House, Ryan was willing to take a bullet for him. When DeLay was admonished for three ethics violations, Democrats called for his ouster as majority leader. From the Washington Post of Oct. 8, 2004:

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) called the charges against DeLay "gutter politics at its worst" and said: "You're going to see a big rallying around Tom. It will do nothing but bolster support for Tom DeLay."

You'd think a guy rallying to DeLay's defense might have showed up at the dinner. But here's the latest explanation:

In a "curious mix-up," Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) "was listed as a speaker on a draft program." But a spokesperson said Ryan had "never even heard of the dinner" and wouldn't attend (Mercurio, CNN's "The Morning Grind", 5/12).