Ryan: Romney 'Obviously Inarticulate' in 47% Video

Paul Ryan tried to massage his running mate's 47% faux pas yesterday in an interview with KRNV-TV in Nevada. "He was obviously inarticulate in making this point," Ryan said. "The point we're trying to make here is, under the Obama economy government dependency is up." Does Ryan think Romney regrets the comment? "I think he would have said it differently, that's for sure. But the point stands." A look around at the 47% fallout:

• The GOP is gently panicking over the video, and the Romney campaign's seeming inability to gain momentum, Politico reports. "The campaign is now in a spiral and no one knows how to pull out," a McCain 2008 strategist says. "Romney needs a big idea, then he needs to shift the debate to spending."

• Scott Brown outright distanced himself from Romney's comments. "That's not the way I view the world," he said. "As someone who grew up in tough circumstances, I know that being on public assistance is not a spot that anyone wants to be in."
• Conservative stalwart Peggy Noonan savaged the campaign in a Wall Street Journal post. "It's time to admit the Romney campaign is an incompetent one," she writes. "It's not big, it's not brave, it's not thoughtfully tackling great issues. … An intervention is in order."
• A new poll underscores how damaging the video could be: It shows that in swing states, somewhere between 54% and 56% believe a Romney presidency would benefit the rich, while just 10% believe it would benefit the middle class, CNN reports. And that was before the video hit.
• Meanwhile, Jimmy Carter IV took a bit of a victory lap on Anderson Cooper's show last night. "A lot of my Twitter followers have been saying that it's poetic justice that a Carter was the one who helped get out this video," he said, according to Politico. "And I agree with that."

(More Mitt Romney stories.)