“It is irrational and preposterous to assert that this choice shows Ryan to be “utterly devoid of principles”.”
Hardly. Ryan, like many of these 11th hour “endorsers” could have endorsed someone early when it mattered, someone whom they agreed with politically.
Or he could have waited until it no longer really matters, and give the front-runner his support.
That’s the act of an unprincipled schemer. Just like Romney.
I think that Paul Ryan likely looked at the facts on the ground as of a week ago or so and concluded that Romney would almost certainly be the eventual nominee and that by endorsing Romney ahead of the Wisconsin primary, he (Ryan) would be helping bring the primary process to a close and get the general election campaign started.
This is a political decision and it involves judgement and compromise, but to say that this decision shows Ryan to be utterly unprincipled is nonsense.