which would enable to give him a mandate? we all talked about how boehner and mccarthy were trying to get the 220 votes on the house floor, if paul ryan is to go, he wants somewhere in the neighborhood of 235. he wants to take the gavel with the backing of the majority of the conference, he doesn't want to tread water similar to what boehner and mccarthy had to do while they were in power. that's the question. the meeting tomorrow will be interesting, giving ryan an opportunity to hear from people who support him and from his detractors. they have a meeting at 9:00 a.m. on wednesday, and this will be put up or shut-up time for paul ryan. he can't keep in a holding pattern. if he says no, then all bets are off the table, and chaos ensues. we'll get committee chairmen, back benchers, people we may never have heard of, throwing their hats in the ring.