Rather than lay out solutions to intractable problems such as the aging of the country, the left has simply scorned those who do, like Mr. Ryan. Last year one left-wing group infamously ran an ad depicting a Ryan look-alike pushing Granny off a cliff in her wheel chair. Such cynicism is loathsome, but powerful. 

The good news is that, as House Budget Committee Chairman, Ryan has done his homework. In a closed-door White House session about a year ago, Ryan respectfully criticized the president and his fellow Democrats for "demagoging" and misrepresenting his suggestions on how to save Medicare. The president responded, according to people who were there, that he didn't doubt Mr. Ryan's sincerity in trying to fix Medicare; he also acknowledged that solutions were tough because the public does not want any changes to the program. Ryan, at least, has the guts to try.