Reporter Reveals 'Mantra' Paul Ryan Lived by as Mitt Romney's Running Mate — and It Has to Do With Sarah Palin

In an appearance on The Glenn Beck Program Wednesday evening, author and BuzzFeed reporter McKay Coppins uncovered what he described as the "mantra" House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) lived by when he was Gov. Mitt Romney's running mate during the 2012 presidential campaign — and it has to do with Sarah Palin.

When Paul Ryan "signs on to the Romney campaign, he's a very earnest, you know, dutiful guy, and he says right from the beginning that he's going to avoid, kind of, the 'going rogue' that Sarah Palin did when she was the 2008 running mate," Coppins told Stu Burguiere, who was sitting in for Glenn Beck.

Coppins went on to say that Ryan was determined to model his vice presidential campaign in "opposition" to the former Alaska governor's '08 approach, when she campaigned alongside Arizona Sen. John McCain.

His mantra, according to people close to him, was 'WWPD' — 'What Wouldn't Palin Do?' Coppins divulged: "That, kind of, was his governing philosophy in terms of how to help Mitt Romney."

For the most part, Coppins told Burguiere, Ryan did "everything the campaign asks," adding that the now-House Speaker said he "really admires" Romney "on a personal level."

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Follow Tré Goins-Phillips (@tregp) on Twitter