GOP Wonderkind Paul Ryan - Atheist Lover

http://online.worldmag.com/2012/04/30/paul-ryan-loves-ayn-rand%E2%8...

i linked an article, but it is but one of many.  feel free to search this yourself for others. 

a little background here.  until recently, Mr. Ryan was a big big BIG fan of Ayn Rand.  amongst other quotes, he has said,

“The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand.” 

he also made Atlas Shrugged required reading material for his staffers. 

that is, until recently.  some prominent Catholic leaders have criticized Mr. Ryan for his support of Ayn Rand based on 2 factors.  first, her Atheism.  second, her political worldview.  Mr. Ryan is a Catholic.  hmmmmm, what to do...

"“I reject her philosophy. … It’s an atheist philosophy. It reduces human interactions down to mere contracts and it is antithetical to my worldview.”

huh, what?  i'm confused.  why the turnaround?  oh wait, he is claiming that this is not a new position, but that his admiration for Rand is an "urban myth". 

i wonder two things.  one, how stupid is this GOP "Young Gun" to think that he could make a statement like that in today's day and age and get away with it (there's audio and video of his speech bestowing Rand's virtues)?  and two, if Ayn Rand had been a Religious person of any denomination would Mr. Ryan have back peddled? 

with all of this, he's in a bit of a rock and a hard place.  he clearly admires her Economic philosophy, as demonstrated by his recent budget proposal.  yet he has to reject her altogether because of her stance on Religion.  you can't have it both ways.  what we do know is, like most politicians i suppose, that Paul Ryan is a liar.  this is not exactly breaking news, but it's always funny when they get caught in one of their blatant lies.  

i'll be interested to see how he explains this one.