Paul Ryan frown-smiles while weightlifting.
Photo: Gregg Segal for TIME
In December of last year, a time when Paul Ryan must have known that he would be on any candidate’s V.P. short list, Time approached the Wisconsin congressman about posing for a series of intimate weightlifting photos, and he was like, “Yeah, sure, I can’t see why not.” Somehow, Time managed to hold off releasing them until now, in its latest issue, which probably took a lot of willpower because, well, look at this photo. Is this any less silly than Dukakis in the tank or Kerry in the Woody Allen sperm suit? It’s like the mimbo from Seinfeld is running for vice-president. (“Hey, Biden, you better step off.”) And what’s happening in this one here? Ryan looks like he’s in a low-budget boy-band video.
