You can almost taste the desperation.

House Speaker Paul Ryan spoke out today on GOP nominee Trump’s veep pick: Indiana Governor Mike Pence.

“I can think of no better choice for our vice-presidential candidate,” Ryan said following Trump’s tweet announcing the pick. “We need someone who is steady and secure in his principles, someone who can cut through the noise and make a compelling case for conservatism. Mike Pence is that man.”

Pence served in the House of Representatives alongside Ryan from 2001-13, where he developed an image as a fiscal hawk and of the leading social conservatives in the country.

During his time as governor of Indiana, however, the shine went off of that particular penny.

Pence aroused the ire of his constituents by implementing a Medicaid expansion for Obamacare. He also folded like the proverbial cheap suit, revising a Religious Freedom Restoration Act bill because the gay mafia rattled his cage.

During the primary season, Pence likewise walked the fence, unwilling to fully commit to endorsing Senator Ted Cruz.

Speaker Ryan further commented:

“Mike and I have been friends for many years, and he has put his principles into practice by passing the largest state tax cut in the history of Indiana and expanding school choice for Hoosier families,” he said. “He will help bring real change to Washington, and so I will do everything I can between now and November to help our ticket and our party win a national majority.”

I’ll say that Pence is head and shoulders above Trump, in every conceivable way.

I also have to point out, however, that that bar has been set really low.