“Have any of you all met Paul Ryan? We should get him to come to the university. I’m telling you this guy is amazing. ... He is honest, he is straightforward, he is sincere. And the budget that he came forward with is just like Paul Ryan. It is a sensible, straightforward, serious budget and it cut the budget deficit just like we did, by $4 trillion. … The president as you remember, came out with a budget and I don’t think anybody took that budget very seriously. The Senate voted against it 97 to nothing." -Clinton White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles
Democrat, Financial, Oops, Debt
In a Sept. 2011 speech, Bowles gave Ryan high marks for intellectual ability and integrity. “This guy is amazing,” said Bowles, a former White House chief of staff. “I always thought I was good at arithmetic. This guy can run circles around me. He is honest, he is straightforward, he is sincere.”