There are three Republican presidential candidates left in the race, and chances are, one of them will be the party’s nominee. On “Fox News Sunday” yesterday, Chris Wallace asked RNC Chairman Reince Priebus the question that’s on the minds of many: Isn’t it possible, at a contested convention, that the nomination could go to someone who isn’t already a candidate? 
 
 Priebus described such as a scenario as an “extreme hypothetical,” which he considers “highly unlikely.” The Republican leader twice said it’s “possible” for a non-candidate to end up as the nominee, but Priebus reiterated his belief that the Republican ticket will be led by “one of the three people [currently] running.” 
 
 And yet, some in Priebus’ party can’t seem to let go of their dream. Politico reported this morning there are still “top” Republican insiders talking up the idea of nominating House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). 
 
 On the eve of the Wisconsin primaries, top Republicans are becoming increasingly vocal about their long-held belief that Speaker Paul Ryan will wind up as the nominee, perhaps on the fourth ballot at a chaotic Cleveland convention. One of the nation’s best-wired Republicans, with an enviable prediction record for this cycle, sees a 60 percent chance of a convention deadlock and a 90 percent chance that delegates turn to Ryan – ergo, a 54 percent chance that Ryan, who’ll start the third week of July as chairman of the Republican National Convention, will end it as the nominee. 
 
 The piece, from Politico’s Mike Allen, added that the Wisconsin congressman is “more calculating and ambitious than he lets on.” It added that Ryan “is running the same playbook he did to become speaker: saying he doesn’t want it, that it won’t happen. In both cases, the maximum leverage is to not want it – and to be begged to do it.” 
 
 The Speaker happens to be in Israel right now, but he called into Hugh Hewitt’s conservative radio show this morning to once again he rejects the speculation. “I think you need to run for president in order to be president,” Ryan said . “I’m not running for president, so, period. End of story.” 
 
 Except, it’s probably not the end of the story. 
 
 The Republicans and pundits keeping these embers burning have been quick to note, accurately, that Paul Ryan made similar comments after John Boehner’s retirement, saying he wouldn’t be a candidate for Speaker. The Wisconsin Republican, we now know, can be talked into accepting great power when it’s offered to him on a platter – which means the speculation will continue, probably until the convention itself. 
 
 But so long as the chatter continues, let’s keep a few relevant details in mind. The first is the simple fact that if Republicans hold 50+ nominating contests over a six-month period, and then nominate someone who did not run for president – and has said repeatedly that he does not want to be president – the prospect of party-wide chaos shouldn’t be dismissed too quickly. 
 
 Second, the assumption that Paul Ryan represents electoral magic for the GOP continues to be wrong. The Speaker was on the Republican ticket four years ago – when he failed to win his home state – and recent polling suggests the American mainstream doesn’t share the Beltway’s affection for the GOP House leader. 
 
 Finally, let’s say for the sake of conversation that all of the obvious hurdles simply disappear. Let’s imagine convention delegates were willing to embrace Ryan without controversy; the Speaker decided he wouldn’t mind being president after all; the party wouldn’t fracture; and polls turned in his favor. Even then, the idea would be dubious on the merits: The Republican Party would find itself in late July with a presidential nominee who has no campaign infrastructure, no platform, no stump speech, no staff, and no money. ||||| President Obama and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) walk past each put during a lunch celebrating St. Patrick's Day for Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) 
 
 Update: Ryan commented further on the intrigue surrounding him and the GOP nomination on Thursday. He said, "It’s not going to be me, it should be somebody running for president." He also said he chided Boehner for talking him up as a potential GOP nominee. "I saw Boehner last night and I told him to knock it off." We'll let everyone decide just his Sherman-esque those statements are. 
 
 When a politician says something, there's often more than one way to interpret it. It's what Twitter and, arguably, this blog are for. But ultimately, deciphering a politician's true intention is in the eye of the beholder. 
 
 And Paul Ryan's interview with CNBC's John Harwood on Tuesday night will likely have to fall into that gray area: Did he or did he not keep the door to a presidential run open? 
 
 Ryan told Harwood he hasn't given much thought the idea of accepting a last-minute nomination at a contested convention this July. 
 
 Plus, the facts don't add up to a guy who's toying with running for president: A committee set up to persuade him to run shut down, apparently at the urging of his aides. And to the casual observer, Ryan seems much more focused on his new job as speaker than trying to launch a clandestine presidential bid. In his interview with Harwood, Ryan indicated he doesn't even want the job (right now, at least). 
 
 "I actually think you should run for president if you're going to be president, if you want to be president," he said. "I'm not running for president. I made that decision, consciously, not to." 
 
 But. Ryan also wouldn't, in Harwood's words, "categorically" rule out accepting Republicans' nomination if it was offered to him at the convention in July. Here's the key passage: 
 
 "You know, I haven't given any thought to this stuff. People say, 'What about the contested convention?' I say, well, there are a lot of people running for president. We'll see. Who knows?" Ryan said. 
 
 His aides immediately sought to clamp down on the buzzy nature of Ryan's "Who knows?" comment, focusing on the fact that Ryan said he consciously made the decision not to run. 
 
 On Paul Ryan/CNBC interview, key line overlooked: PR: "I'm happy where I am, so no." He ruled it out, as he's done many times in the past. — AshLee Strong (@AshLeeStrong) March 16, 2016 
 
 But Ryan's interview is creating buzz -- even among former House Speaker John Boehner, who Politico reports endorsed Ryan for president if no one wins the nomination outright -- for two reasons: One, he's one of Republicans' undisputed leaders. He's the speaker of the House. He's in charge of presiding over the convention itself. And he's the party's 2012 vice presidential nominee. 
 
 Ryan is fully aware of the goings-on of a convention and likely even more acutely aware of the weight his words carry at such an uncertain time for his party. The "Who knows?" remark, this argument goes, wasn't just a slip of the tongue. 
 
 And two, his interview with Harwood came as Donald Trump was in the process of sweeping at least three, and possibly four, of the five states voting in the GOP nominating process on Tuesday. The realization is sinking in among Republicans, Tuesday by Tuesday, that Trump is the most likely candidate to be their nominee (though a contested convention is also possible). 
 
 Taking this a step further, Ryan has said he'll support whoever the nominee is, but he has also denounced Trump's actions twice in this campaign. It's safe to say Ryan is not a fan of the idea of Trump leading the GOP ticket in November, if it comes to that. Even leaving open the idea of someone wresting the nomination from Trump at a convention is notable. 
 
 House Speaker Paul Ryan condemned efforts "from the left" to disrupt political rallies, but said all presidential candidates must help curb violence. He blamed budget-blocking attempts in the House on anxiety among voters leading up to the elections. (Reuters) 
 
 [Paul Ryan is rapidly emerging as the GOP's anti-Trump] 
 
 You can also read what Ryan said another way: He's not ruling out accepting the nomination at a contested convention, because why rule anything out that hasn't happened yet? "Never say never" and all that. Ryan played it off with Harwood like he honestly hadn't thought about the idea yet, so how could he know how he'd react if it came to that? 
 
 "I don't see that happening," he said of the idea of a contested convention. "I'm not thinking about it. I'm happy where I am, so no." 
 
 His aides point to "so no" as Ryan shutting the door on the idea of accepting a nomination at a contested convention. 
 
 And Ryan's spokeswoman, AshLee Strong, had this to say about Boehner's endorsement: "The speaker is grateful for the support, but he is not interested. He will not accept a nomination and believes our nominee should be someone who ran this year." 
 
 But you could also argue it's not clear whether "so no" was referring to the idea Ryan hadn't thought about a contested convention, or that he wouldn't accept the nomination if it were offered to him. 
 
 In some ways, Ryan brought this speculation -- however annoying it might be for him -- on himself. If he really had absolutely zero intention of accepting the party's nomination at any point this election cycle, he could have simply said so. 
 
 And he still can. For now, though, what you read into Ryan's latest comments is up to you. ||||| The House speaker said in an interview he would step down as the Republican Party convention co-chairman if Donald Trump asks him. Photos by Mike De Sisti 
 
 By of the 
 
 Janesville — House Speaker Paul Ryan said Monday that if Donald Trump wants him to step down as a chairman of the GOP convention, he will respect his wishes. 
 
 "He's the nominee. I'll do whatever he wants with respect to the convention," Ryan said when asked about that scenario in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
 
 Ryan said he hopes he and Trump can begin to get to know each other when they meet later this week. 
 
 "I just want to get to know the guy ... we just don't know each other," said Ryan, who delivered a political bombshell last Thursday when he said he wasn't ready yet to support his party's presumptive nominee. 
 
 "I never said never. I just said (not) at this point. I wish I had more time to get to know him before this happened. We just didn't," he said. 
 
 Ryan said his comments last week were him simply speaking his mind. He dismissed the criticism from Trump supporter Sarah Palin that he has his eye on the White House in 2020. 
 
 "I would not have become speaker of the House if I had 2020 aspirations. If I really wanted to run for president, I could have run in 2012 and 2016. The speaker is not exactly a good steppingstone for president. I think people who know me know that is not my aspiration," Ryan said. 
 
 Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee who picked Ryan as his running mate, is being courted to reconsider jumping into this year's presidential race as an independent candidate, according to some media reports. 
 
 But Ryan said Monday that he was vehemently opposed to a third-party or independent presidential bid this year by conservatives unhappy with Trump. 
 
 "I've made it very clear to people publicly and privately; I think an independent run by anyone would be a disaster. I think that's a bad idea," Ryan said. "We need to win the White House and keep Congress. And having an independent run by anyone would defeat that purpose — would defeat that goal." 
 
 Ryan added that Romney knows how he feels about the issue. 
 
 The speaker said that in taking his stance on Trump his goal is to work toward real unity, and not "fake" unity. 
 
 "We have right now a disunified Republican Party. We shouldn't sweep it under the rug without addressing it. That would be to our detriment in the fall," said Ryan, speaking in an interview that had been scheduled before Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee. 
 
 Ryan declined to elaborate in greater detail about his concerns about Trump, saying, "I don't want to have a conversation with Donald Trump through the media. I want to have a straight conversation with Donald Trump on behalf of the party (and) myself, too. Let me say this, the man deserves a ton of credit for an amazing achievement, which is to bring millions of people into this party and to have a very impressive victory. ... At the same time, we want to make sure we don't pretend we're unified and then go into the fall at half strength." 
 
 "I want to help unify our party so that we're at full strength so that we can defeat Hillary Clinton," Ryan said. "I believe between now and July we will be able to figure out how to unify our party." 
 
 Ryan's declaration last week that he isn't ready to endorse Trump underscores a historic schism in the party over its presumptive nominee, with past GOP presidents and nominees distancing themselves from Trump and Republican lawmakers up for re-election struggling to adopt a stance that won't alienate either their own base or general election voters. One GOP senator in a hot re-election race, Pennsylvania's Pat Toomey, wrote an op-ed Sunday criticizing Trump and indicating he isn't ready to support him. 
 
 Trump says he was "blindsided" by Ryan's stance. Asked on NBC's "Meet The Press" on Sunday if he would seek to have Ryan removed as chair of the GOP convention if he refuses to endorse him, Trump said he'd answer that question at a later time. 
 
 "I will give you a very solid answer, if that happens, about one minute after that happens. OK? But there's no reason to give it right now," he said. 
 
 Palin said on CNN on Sunday that Ryan had "disrespected the will of the people" by withholding his support from Trump. And she vowed to work to defeat Ryan in his GOP congressional primary this August, where he faces a businessman and first-time candidate, Paul Nehlen. If she does, it would pit the party's 2008 vice presidential nominee directly against its 2012 nominee. 
 
 Trump distanced himself from Palin's comments on Monday. 
 
 "I have nothing to do with that. Sarah is very much a free agent. She's a terrific person. ... I didn't know about this until yesterday. I guess she's ... endorsing somebody who's running against Paul," Trump said on CNN. 
 
 Offering a defense of Ryan on Monday was his friend and fellow Wisconsinite Reince Priebus, who as chair of the Republican National Committee is trying to bring his party together behind its nominee. 
 
 But Priebus said the best way to do that is not by "jamming people" who are trying to work through how they feel about Trump. 
 
 "In Paul's defense ... a lot of people thought, and I got to tell you, I was very surprised that (Ted) Cruz dropped out so quickly. I think a lot of people thought they were going to be able to kick the tires for another 30 days and kind of work through this," Priebus told radio talk show host Mike Gallagher Monday. "Then all of a sudden the microphones are in everybody's face saying, 'Are you on board?'" 
 
 Priebus said he put Ryan in the category of someone who is "in the constructive position, I believe, of saying, 'How do I get to yes?'" 
 
 The RNC chair added: "It would be great if everything was instantaneous. But this hasn't been the kind of primary season that would allow instantaneous cohesion." 
 
 Priebus also said he thought Trump could help bring Republicans together by offering assurances he doesn't want to rewrite the GOP platform and even publicizing a list of potential Supreme Court nominees he would choose from if elected. 
 
 Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, said he thinks Ryan is trying to protect himself from further political fallout from Trump's campaign. 
 
 "After nearly 20 years in Congress, Rep. Paul Ryan has mastered D.C. double talk," Ross said. "Rep. Ryan has been running from the Trump train as fast as he can and now he's hoping to look magnanimous doing it." 
 
 Ryan said Monday that his stance on Trump was not "about me." 
 
 "I do this because I believe in these principles so clearly, and I just want to make sure that we are protecting and advancing our principles as we go forward," Ryan said. 
 
 In his comments last week, Ryan signaled two distinct concerns about Trump: that he should campaign more firmly on conservative ideas, and at the same time moderate his tone to appeal to a diverse array of voters. 
 
 "I have some experience with the Electoral College," Ryan said Monday, referring to his vice presidential candidacy four years ago. "And we need to do better than just our party, we need to go out and recruit and win votes from people who haven't voted for us in the past. That is my paramount concern." 
 
 Mary Spicuzza reported from Janesville and Craig Gilbert reported from Washington.
– Paul Ryan, a man who is not running for president and swears that he doesn't want the job, continues to get about as much press about it as the official remaining candidates. In his Politico Playbook on Monday, Mike Allen talks to a Republican in the know who "sees a 60% chance of a convention deadlock, and a 90% chance that delegates turn to Ryan—ergo, a 54% chance that Ryan, who'll start the third week of July as chairman of the Republican National Convention, will end it as the nominee." Ryan, meanwhile, tells the Times of Israel while on a visit to Jerusalem that he's not interested. "No, I've already said that that's not me," he tells the newspaper. Of course, as Allen and Steve Benen at MSNBC point out, Ryan said much the same thing about becoming House speaker before accepting the job as John Boehner's successor. Saying he doesn't want the job gives him "maximum leverage" and sets up a scenario in which he's "begged to do it," writes Allen. Benen thinks those in the GOP hoping for just this scenario should be careful: "The Republican Party would find itself in late July with a presidential nominee who has no campaign infrastructure, no platform, no stump speech, no staff, and no money."