PHOTOS, FROM TOP: EVAN VUCCI/AP IMAGES; COURTESY OF THE RYAN FAMILY


Sunday With... W


hen Mitt Romney chose Paul Ryan to be his running mate in 2012, the most dra- matic detail in the


potential veep’s biography was the tragic loss of his father when Ryan was just 16. In his new book,The Way Forward, the Wis- consin congressman reveals for the first time how the elder Ryan struggled with alcohol. “I adored my dad,” says Ryan. “But I learned about what alcoholism can do to the person you love. You don’t want it to happen to you.” In an interview with Andy Abrahams, Ryan, 44, also discusses losing the 2012 election and whether he’ll make his own White House bid.


PARADE:Why talk about your father’s drinking now? It’s just something I chose not to think about for many years. He was a very kind, smart man. But at the end of his life, this got the better of him. The irony is that he was worried about having a heart attack like his dad. So his health stress got to him and [drinking] was one of his coping mechanisms. And it wasn’t the right one.


Your kids weren’t thrilled at the idea of moving to D.C. You know, it was a hard sell for Charlie. Liza understood the bigger picture and Sam is a really happy kid. They loved riding on the buses, and hotels with pools, and seeing the whole country. Sam would go back and talk to the media and do little impromptu press conferences.


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a week when we’re in session; I’m not going to make it seven. As for the other issue [about a White House run], my wife, Janna, and I know that bridge doesn’t have to be crossed till next year.


INTERVIEW AT PARADE


Your House budget calls for steep cuts in social programs, and


Democrats accuse you of Ryan’s Hope


Paul Ryan on his father’s drinking, how he would fix Washington, and hunting with his kids


like that. What bothered me was I knew in great detail what the first 200 days of a Romney administra- tion would look like. Then to lose and watch the Obama administra- tion go in an entirely different direction was very dispiriting. But you can’t sulk for long.


In Wisconsin in 2012 with (from left) Charlie, now 11, Janna, 45, Liza, 12, and Sam, 9


How hard was the loss for them? They became invested in the campaign … but they were happy to get back to the routine.


And for you … It’s really hard to deal with a loss


Why didn’t you seek the role of House majority leader when Rep. Eric Cantor lost his recent primary? Do you have your eyes on a bigger prize? In elected leadership, you’re ex- pected to travel on weekends, stumping for colleagues. I’m al- ready away [from home] four days


being hostile to the poor. I reject that notion. Look, the sta- tus quo isn’t working. We need to reform our poverty programs. We’re going to have a debt crisis in this country if we keep spending money we don’t have. That’s just being honest with people and a lot of folks don’t want to hear that.


After you spend the week sleeping on a foldaway bed in your office, what’s a typical Ryan family weekend in Janesville, Wis.? I make breakfast—pancakes, usually. Then we have sports events—the boys are playing softball now. Sunday mornings, we go to 9:45 Mass, and if the kids are good, they get to go to Dunkin’ Donuts afterwards.


You’re a bow hunter. Aren’t Liza and Charlie now hunt- ers, too? We went hunting right after the election, and it was one of the most cathartic experiences, tak- ing Liza out and seeing her shoot her first deer on opening day! Charlie got an eight pointer. It’s a good family tradition I’m glad to pass on to my kids.


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