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John Nichols, Washington correspondent for The Nation, joined New York magazine columnist Jonathan Chait yesterday on The Last Word to discuss a hot topic: Will Romney pick Paul Ryan for vice president?

Of course he could, but as Nichols has articulated, it would be one of Romney’s worst ideas. The Washington insider is an extremist in his economic beliefs, and the “comparison of Paul Ryan to Dick Cheney is not an inappropriate one,” Nichols said. Much like Cheney held the policy reins in the Bush era, so too would Ryan overtake a Romney presidency.

—Zoë Schlanger