Representative Paul D. Ryan is pumped. Seriously. He's like Arnold Schwarzenegger-pumped.
On the eve of his first nationally televised vice-presidential debate, Time Magazine published pictures of the famously fit Mr. Ryan pumping iron.
The pictures were taken as part of the magazine's consideration of Mr. Ryan to be its person of the year. He wasn't chosen in the end, but sat for the photo shoot nonetheless.
The pictures show Mr. Ryan in a T-shirt and shorts, holding a weight in one hand and grinning. He has a red baseball cap on backward and iPod-like earbuds in his ears. In one picture he's wearing a nicely tailored suit, but is sitting on a workout bench with weights at his feet.
The pictures became a kind of Internet sensation on Thursday after Matt Drudge, the conservative news aggregator, featured one of them on his well-traveled home page.
Mr. Ryan, who is a fan of the P90x workout regimen, is not the first political celebrity who has had fitness pictures make the rounds of the Internet. In June 2009, after losing her bid to become vice president the year before, Sarah Palin was featured in Runner's World magazine.
Ms. Palin, a runner, was pictured in several photos wearing running shorts or capris and a red shirt.
Follow Michael D. Shear on Twitter at @shearm.
