Republican Paul Ryan described as Dick Cheney with very good hair

Paul Ryan has Kennedy hair, but not a Kennedy perspective when it comes to health care.

Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan is an objectivist.

Yes, the Wisconsin Congressman tapped by Mitt Romney to be a heartbeat away from the presidency is a devotee of author Ayn Rand.

The Russian-born novelist's libertarian screeds on the virtues of selfishness made her the darling of right-wing zealots, including former U.S. Federal Reserve boss Alan Greenspan.

John Nichols, associate editor of the Capital Times in Madison, Wisconsin made the revelation in an article called "What Wisconsin Journalists Want You To Know About Paul Ryan".

"He has read Fountainhead, he has said it inspired him to go into politics, it is hyper individualist, no government at all," Nichols said. "Ayn Rand was an atheist and you tie that kind of stuff to the vice presidential candidate and it is a lot to talk about."

It sort of explains why the Republican vice presidential candidate is so hostile to Medicare, which provides government-financed health benefits to the elderly.

Nichols also compared Ryan to a former U.S. vice president: "He is Dick Cheney with very good hair."

The article was posted on the Media Matters for America website.

Follow Charlie Smith on Twitter at twitter.com/csmithstraight.