2012 Election: Republican Candidates

[I]By Eugene Robinson [Washington Post]:[/I]

[QUOTE]Donald Trump has said that he would be “open” to accepting a Cabinet post if Mitt Romney becomes president. Trump would prefer “a position where I negotiate against some of these countries, because they are really taking our lunch.” So is he on the short list, perhaps, for secretary of state?

Don’t laugh. Okay, go ahead and laugh. Point out that Trump is barely qualified to be secretary of salami.

But then ask Romney why he chooses to embrace and encourage a puffed-up buffoon whose antic self-promotion, once mildly amusing, has become rabid and toxic. Ask Romney whether giving Trump a platform doesn’t cheapen what should be a serious debate about the future of the country. Ask Romney why he decided to join a huckster’s silly sideshow.

In a week when Romney clinched the Republican nomination, his appearance at a Las Vegas fundraiser with Trump — and Trump’s doubled-down insistence that the thoroughly discredited, insane “birther” theories about President Obama have merit — dominated the political news.

When pressed by reporters on Monday why he continues to associate with Trump, Romney gave an answer that was unintentionally revealing. “You know, I don’t agree with all the people who support me, and my guess is they don’t all agree with everything I believe in,” he said. “But I need to get 50.1 percent or more, and I’m appreciative to have the help of a lot of good people.”

This raises two issues, the lesser of which is the suggestion that Romney will accept endorsements and donations from anyone who chooses to give them.

One hopes that when he was running Bain Capital, he took his obligation to perform due diligence more seriously.

The greater issue is this: Romney thinks that Trump actually has the Romney campaign’s best interests in mind? Really? If so, one has to wonder whether Romney is too gullible to be president.

The idea that Trump cares about anything bigger than Trump is absurd. In his mind, from all evidence, there is nothing bigger than Trump.

If Trump really wanted Romney to win, he wouldn’t have done an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that deserves a prominent place in the annals of lunacy. Trump begins by slamming a taped introduction as “totally inappropriate” and “actually very dishonest” because it focused on the birther nonsense. He goes on to tell Blitzer that Obama “uses reverse psychology” and pretends nonchalance about discussions of his origins when actually “it’s not an issue that he likes talking about.”

I should interject that, back here on Planet Earth, the Obama campaign did all it could this week to focus attention on Trump and birtherism. The mood of top advisers seemed to approach unrestrained glee.

Poor Blitzer notes that Hawaii has formally certified Obama’s birth certificate. Trump contends that “many people” do not believe the document is authentic.

“Like who?” Blitzer asks.

“There are many people,” says Trump.

“Give me a name of somebody,” demands Blitzer.

“There are many people,” says Trump. “I don’t give names.”

Indeed, Trump refuses to violate the Super-Secret Birther Code of Silence by naming a single person who doubts the facts of Obama’s birth. He does pin himself down, however, when Blitzer asks whether “the conspiracy” is supposed to have begun in 1961, when announcements of Obama’s birth were published in two Honolulu newspapers.

“That’s right,” Trump says. “And many people put those announcements in because they wanted to get the benefit of being so-called born in this country. Many people did it. It was something that was done by many people, even if they weren’t born in the country. You know it, and so do I, and so do a lot of your viewers.”

This is transparently crazy — and also stupid. It is a bald-faced lie that “many people” — or any people, far as I can tell — ever published fake birth announcements in hopes of establishing citizenship.

Moreover, Obama has to be a U.S. citizen, even if he were born on the moon, because of his mother’s citizenship. Trump needs to hire some writers to come up with better material.

As for Romney, he needs to decide whether Trump is the sort of person on whom he wants to rely for support and advice — if he’s one of the “good people” Romney would be proud to have at his side if he becomes president.

Oh, sorry. Looks as if that choice has already been made.

[email][COLOR="#0000FF"]eugenerobinson@washpost.com[/email[/COLOR]][/QUOTE]

Published June 05, 2012
| [I]Associated Press[/I]:

[QUOTE][IMG]http://global.fncstatic.com/static/managed/img/fn2/video/060512_hn_clintonobama_640.jpg[/IMG]

Former President Bill Clinton said Tuesday that broad tax cuts that expire in January should be temporarily renewed, including for the wealthiest Americans, to give lawmakers time to reach a deal on a longer-term extension that should exclude the rich.

Clinton's comments were in contrast to President Barack Obama, whose re-election he is supporting. Obama has opposed renewing the tax reductions for people earning over $250,000 a year, saying they must contribute to the effort to control rampant federal deficits.

Reductions in income tax rates and other levies first enacted under President George W. Bush expire in January, at the same time that $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts begin to take effect. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and others have warned that letting both events occur would suck so much money out of the economy that it could spark a renewed recession next year.

"What I think we need to do is to find some way to avoid the fiscal cliff, to avoid doing anything that would contract the economy now, and then deal with what's necessary in the long-term debt reduction plan as soon as they can, which presumably will be after the election," Clinton said on CNBC's "Closing Bell With Maria Bartiromo."

Asked whether that meant extending the tax cuts, Clinton said, "They will probably have to put everything off until early next year. That's probably the best thing to do right now."

He also said Republicans will press to include the wealthy in a permanent extension of the tax cuts, adding, "I don't think the president should do that."

White House officials would not comment immediately on Clinton's remarks. But officials pointed out that Obama has said repeatedly that he would not extend the Bush tax cuts for higher earners after they expire.

Republicans have insisted that tax rates for the rich should be kept low, saying many of them run companies that create jobs.

Besides the spending cuts and expiration of the tax cuts, the government is expected to need a renewal of its authority to borrow money and avoid a federal default by early next year, something that is up to Congress to decide. Without action, January will also see an end to a one-year Social Security payroll tax cut and to a provision avoiding deep cuts in Medicare reimbursements to doctors.

A postelection lame duck session of Congress is expected to address those issues, with the results depending on who wins the White House and control of the House and Senate on Election Day Nov. 6. Many lawmakers believe final decisions won't be made until next year.

Last week, Clinton said GOP presidential challenger Mitt Romney had a "sterling" record at private equity firm Bain Capital, departing from efforts by Obama's campaign to criticize the Republican's experience there as having little to do with job creation.

Obama and Clinton have improved their relationship since 2008, when Obama defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton in a bitter Democratic contest for the presidential nomination.[/QUOTE]

By David Chalian
[COLOR="#0000FF"]By David Chalian | The Ticket:[/COLOR]

[QUOTE]The 2012 presidential election will most certainly be won or lost based on American voters' perception of the economy and which candidate is the more trusted steward to lead the country to sturdier economic ground.

But it will also be about the country's rapidly evolving demographics.

One week after Mitt Romney unveiled the leadership of his campaign's Hispanic outreach, two pro-Obama groups are launching a major offensive aimed at defining Romney in a negative light to U.S. Hispanics.

The pro-Obama super PAC, Priorities USA, and the Service Employees International Union are using Romney's own words from the 2011-2012 Republican nomination season in a new round of television and radio ads going up today and running through the summer in Florida, Colorado and Nevada, three critical battleground states where Hispanic voters will have a major impact on the outcome. The groups are spending $4 million on the ad campaign.

The Spanish language ads utilize some of Romney's more awkward moments on the stump such as when he joked about being unemployed and when he expressed his love for firing people.


"If elected President, Mitt Romney's policies would be devastating to Latino families. In a Romney administration, the tax burden would shift onto middle class families in order to protect corporations and the wealthiest Americans," said Paul Begala, senior adviser for Priorities USA Action.

The Romney campaign has argued both in public statements and advertising that its message to the Latino community is the same message to the broader electorate that Romney is best equipped for fixing the country's economic ills in the light of President Obama's failure to do so.

The SEIU and Obama super PAC ads are geared directly towards undermining that argument.

In 2008, Hispanics made up 13 percent of the voters in Colorado, 14 percent in Florida and 15 percent in Nevada. President Obama bested John McCain by significant margins (overwhelmingly so in Nevada) among Hispanic voters in each of those three states.

Of course, it is quite clear that Romney will not be the only candidate in the race who will have his own words haunting him in his opponents' advertising. After President Obama's gaffe on Friday when he said the private sector is "doing fine," you can be certain those words will be featured in an ad coming to a TV screen near you before too long.[/QUOTE]

AP:

[QUOTE]WASHINGTON (AP) — Presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney has released a Web video hammering President Barack Obama for his assertion Friday that "the economy is doing fine."

The Romney campaign has paid for the 54-second spot, which opens with the president at a White House press conference.

The ad shows eight people talking about their experiences: staff cuts, job loss, personal bankruptcy, a two-year job hunt, no healthcare and a slashed pension and other concerns. The ad closes with, "No, Mr. President, we are not doing fine."

Romney is using Obama's remark to cast the president as out of touch with the average American, a criticism the president's campaign has tried against Romney.

The economy with its stubborn 8.2 percent unemployment is the biggest issue for voters and a weak spot for Obama.[/QUOTE]

ABC
[I]Jul 7, 2012 5:15pm[/I]

[QUOTE]Undeterred by independent fact checkers that have debunked the thrust of their claims, the Obama campaign is redoubling attacks on Mitt Romney as an “outsourcer” in a new TV ad airing in eight battleground states.

The 30-second spot — titled “The Problem” — claims Romney condoned the Chinese “taking our jobs and taking a lot of our future.”

“He made a fortune letting it happen,” the narrator says, focusing on Bain Capital outsourcing to China, a country Romney has vowed to challenge as president.

It’s the latest in a steady drumbeat of negative attacks on Romney’s record as a corporate buyout specialist, alleging he profited off of deliberately bankrupting companies and sending jobs overseas.

The inclusion of China in the new ad also comes as Obama tries to bolster his image as a hard-liner against China. On Thursday, the administration lodged a new complaint against China at the World Trade Organization, challenging tariffs on U.S. auto exports. The case coincided with Obama’s campaign bus tour through auto manufacturing country of Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The Romney campaign called the latest ad a continuation of “desperate lies,” citing reports by several independent fact-checkers that have discredited the suggestion that Romney himself had a direct role in relocating U.S. jobs overseas.

“We found no evidence to support the claim that Romney — while he was still running Bain Capital — shipped American jobs overseas,” FactCheck.org concluded in a report last month.

Washington Post fact checker Glenn Kessler also concluded that while Bain-owned companies may have engaged in outsourcing, Romney’s ties to the practice are tenuous.

The ad blitz comes in spite of Obama’s comments to audiences on his bus tour last week decrying the negative tone of the campaign on TV.

“You guys are getting bombarded with all kinds of nonsense on TV. So I know that sometimes politics can be discouraging, and especially Washington politics can be discouraging, and it can seem small and it can seem petty,” Obama said Friday.

Independent media monitors that track campaign advertising report that 76 percent of the TV ads Obama’s campaign has aired over the past month have had a negative, “anti-Romney” message.

The new ad begins airing today in New Hampshire, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Colorado, and Nevada, the Obama campaign said.[/QUOTE]

[I]By Nicholas Kamm[/I] | [COLOR="#0000FF"]AFP[/COLOR]:

[QUOTE][IMG]http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/2E_Nht25O.3eKz9EMYxVlw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD0zMzI7cT04NTt3PTUxMg--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/photo_1342028309901-4-0.jpg[/IMG]
[I]Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney addresses the NAACP National Convention in Houston, Texas. Romney ventured into the heart of Barack Obama's support base, drawing loud boos from African-Americans when he vowed to repeal the president's health care reforms[/I]. (AFP Photo/Eric Kayne)

Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney ventured into the heart of Barack Obama's support base, drawing loud boos from African-Americans when he vowed to repeal the president's health care reforms.

Romney's address to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), America's oldest and largest civil rights group, was billed as a brave appeal to a voting demographic that overwhelmingly favors his opponent, the first black US president.

It was certainly a tough crowd and some cackled when the presumptive Republican nominee declared: "If you want a president who will make things better in the African-American community, you are looking at him."

Polite applause for his pro-jobs pitch was accompanied by some raised eyebrows when he said Obama had left the economy "worse for African-Americans in almost every way."

But he ran into what was perhaps the most negative reaction to anything he has said on his year-long White House campaign when his pledge to repeal the Affordable Care Act was met with loud and sustained boos.

"I think we expected that of course, but you know I'm going to give the same message to the NAACP that I give across the country," Romney told Fox News hours later.

"Obamacare is killing jobs and if jobs is the priority then we're going to have to replace Obamacare with something that actually holds down health care costs, as opposed to causing more spending for the government and more spending for American families."

Blacks voted overwhelmingly for Obama over Republican John McCain in 2008, but with US unemployment above eight percent for 41 straight months and a recent spike up to 14.4 percent jobless among blacks, Romney aims to win over disaffected voters.

The NAACP jeers exposed the uphill battle he faces in convincing minority voters he is the best man for the White House.

Wednesday marked a sensitive time for health care, with the Republican-led House of Representatives doing Romney's bidding and voting to repeal the law, although the effort is all-but certain to fail in the Democratic-led Senate.

In his speech, Romney addressed the need to curb government spending. "To do that I'm going to eliminate every nonessential expensive program that I can find," he said. "That includes Obamacare."

Before he could finish his sentence, the boos rained down loudly, lasting more than 20 seconds.

While it was an awkward moment to be sure, it was also seen as courageous of the Republican to stand before a pro-Obama crowd and sell his political platform. Supporters took to Twitter to praise his determination.

But NAACP president Benjamin Jealous said Romney's repeal pledge showed a "fundamental misunderstanding of the needs of many African-Americans," millions of whom stand to benefit from health care reform.

The former Massachusetts governor argued that Obama's presidency, while historic, is leaving many black families behind.

"If equal opportunity in America were an accomplished fact, then a chronically bad economy would be equally bad for everyone," Romney said.

"Instead, it's worse for African-Americans in almost every way. The unemployment rate, the duration of unemployment, average income and median family wealth are all worse for the black community."

Romney said he was confident his policies "will help hundreds of millions of middle-class Americans of all races" and lift people out of poverty.

He also argued that the Obama camp was telling Americans that Romney was "running for office to help the rich.

"Nonsense. The rich will do just fine whether I am elected or not," he said. "I want to make this a campaign about helping the middle class."

Blacks are expected to back Obama in November, but the question in a neck-and-neck race is whether Romney can lure enough black voters to make a difference in swing states like Florida and North Carolina.

McCain won just five percent of the black vote, and Romney is aiming to bring the figure closer to the 11 percent that George W. Bush won in 2004.

His NAACP address can be seen as an effort to make Romney, a multimillionaire ex-businessman with a reputation of not connecting with everyday voters, appear more attractive to a diverse electorate.

He has a daunting task. Republican-led efforts in several states to require voters to present government-issued ID at polling stations is seen as having a disproportionate effect on minorities and the poor, who vote more Democratic.

And he wants Bush-era tax cuts extended for all Americans including the rich, a position that might not sit well with working-class voters.

Vice President Joe Biden addresses the NAACP on Thursday.[/QUOTE]

[I]July 17th, 2012, 3:58 pm[/I] [COLOR="#0000FF"]posted by Martin Wisckol, Politics reporter[/COLOR] [OC Register]:

[QUOTE]Mitt Romney is returning to Orange County on Monday, his third visit in four months as he continues to fill his presidential campaign treasury for the battle in swing states.

Tickets start at $1,000 for the breakfast fundraiser at the Hyatt Regency Irvine. If you’re interested in attending, call the county Republican Party at 714-987-9711.

That’s a bargain compared to two Sunday fundraisers Romney is holding in San Francisco, where entrance is $50,000 a plate, according the Sacramento Bee.

Romney was at Newport Beach’s Balboa Bay Club for a June 1 fundraiser where tickets started at $2,500 and was at a private residence in Irvine’s Shady Canyon on March 27, with tickets starting at $1,000.
Barack Obama was at a private home in Corona del Mar for a Feb. 16 fundraiser, where tickets started at $2,500.

While Obama has plenty of wealthy supporters in California, Romney has a 3-to-1 advantage in raising dough in O.C., according to a Register analysis. Through April 30, the presumptive Republican nominee had raised $2.13 million in itemized contributions from Orange County residents. Obama raised $706,000 in the same period.[/QUOTE]

From the CNN [COLOR=#0000ff]Political Unit[/COLOR]
Updated 8:41 PM EDT, [I]Sat. August 11, 2012[/I]:

[QUOTE][IMG]http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120811110850-paul-ryan-1-horizontal-gallery.jpg[/IMG]

Norfolk, Virginia (CNN) -- Mitt Romney on Saturday announced U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his running mate for the White House -- a bold and risky move that energized both conservatives and their opponents.

Ryan is a rising Republican star and the party's leader on fiscal and budget issues.

He is the architect of a Republican spending plan that would overhaul many entitlement programs, making him a favorite of conservatives, whose support for Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has been shaky.

But the Romney camp was also quick to put some distance between Ryan's initial budget blueprint and his own.

"Gov. Romney applauds Paul Ryan for going in the right direction with his budget," the campaign said, "and as president he will be putting together his own plan for cutting the deficit and putting the budget on a path to balance."

His running mate choice draws some clear lines with Romney's Democratic opponents over the size of the cuts in Ryan's plan and his prior votes on taxes, which they say favor the wealthiest Americans -- a point of contention in an election in which both sides consider themselves champions of the middle class.

"Congressman Paul Ryan is an outstanding choice as our country's next vice president, and today's announcement demonstrates Governor Romney's commitment to returning fiscal sanity back to Washington, DC.," said former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who mounted the strongest conservative challenge to Romney's campaign in the Republican primaries.

"I have long supported Paul Ryan's fiscal and entitlement reforms to return our country back on a path of fiscal health."

Ryan, 42, is considered a policy wonk and conservative Catholic likely to energize the GOP base and sharpen the campaign's focus on government spending and the economy.

That could boost Romney's appeal among middle-of-the-road Catholic voters in battleground states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania, though Ryan offers little in the way of foreign policy experience.

The House Budget Committee chairman was chosen ahead of Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio. A campaign aide told CNN that Romney decided on Ryan on August 1. GOP sources said Friday that the latter three had all been told that they wouldn't be getting the nod.

Meanwhile, Vice President Joe Biden contacted Ryan, welcoming him to the race, saying that he "looked forward to engaging him on the clear choice voters face this November."

And Democrats were quick to make Ryan's fiscal policies a target.

[URL="http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/11/politics/romney-ryan-analysis/index.html"]Analysis: A bold but risky choice for running mate[/URL]

"Congressman Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney are a match made in millionaires' heaven, but they'll be a nightmare for seniors who've earned their Medicare benefits," said New York Rep. Steve Israel, chairman of Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, "For the last 18 months, we've said Republicans will have to defend the indefensible -- their vote to end Medicare. Now with Congressman Ryan on the ticket, House Republicans face the one thing they hoped to avoid -- a national debate on their budget that puts millionaires first and Medicare and the middle class last."

The announcement comes at the end of a week in which Democrats continued relentless attacks on Romney over his refusal to reveal more of his tax records and which saw three polls in 24 hours showing Obama with a growing lead over his Republican challenger.

A CNN/ORC International poll released Thursday showed a big jump in those who had an unfavorable opinion of the GOP candidate.

While some analysts saw Romney's choice as risky, others thought Romney had to go big.

"With Mitt Romney losing ground to President Obama in the polls, I don't see the selection of Paul Ryan as 'risky,' I see the choice as bold and necessary," Republican consultant Ford O'Connell told CNN.

[URL="http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/11/politics/paul-ryan-timeline/index.html"]Timeline: Paul Ryan through the years[/URL]

CNN senior political analyst David Gergen says the Ryan pick is, "an opportunity for the Romney campaign to go on the offense."

Ryan, appearing with Romney in Norfolk, Virginia, at the beginning of a four-day, four-state bus tour moved quickly to position himself and Romney as champions of voters dissatisfied with the economy and to draw his own contrasts with President Barack Obama.

"We won't duck the tough issues, we will lead!," Ryan told a cheering crowd on the battleship USS Wisconsin. "We won't blame others, we will take responsibility. We won't replace our founding principles, we will reapply them."

"I hear some people say that this is just 'the new normal.' Higher unemployment, declining incomes and crushing debt is not a new normal. It's the result of misguided policies. And next January, our economy will begin a comeback with the Romney plan for a stronger middle class that will lead to more jobs and more take-home pay for working Americans."

Romney called Ryan "a faithful Catholic" who "believes in the worth and dignity of every human life." He lauded the fifth-generation Wisconsin native serving his seventh term in Congress as "an intellectual leader of the Republican Party" and a person who will help lead the country "to widespread and shared prosperity."

Romney introduced his running mate saying that his "integrity is unquestioned and his word is good."

[URL="http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/11/politics/paul-ryan-profile/index.html"]Paul Ryan, top GOP voice on fiscal matters[/URL]

But Romney, 65, initially flubbed his big line, announcing, "Join me in welcoming the next president of the United States, Paul Ryan!" He recovered moments later when Ryan took the stage, saying, "Every now and then, I'm known to make a mistake. I did not make a mistake with this guy, but I can tell you this: He's going to be the next vice president of the United States."

At a later stop in Manassas, Virginia, Ryan picked up again on the economy.

To choruses of "no" from the crowd, Ryan asked, "Do you think the economy is heading in the right direction? Do you think we're getting our debt and deficit under control? Do you think the country is on the right track?"

"Do you know why? he asked. "Because President Obama is our president and he has put all of his policies in place and they're just not working."

Romney then took the microphone, touting energy independence, improved worker skills and enhanced trade opportunities.

First, he drew cheers for his choice of Ryan.

"If you said one word about Paul Ryan it would probably be leader," Romney said. "This is a man who learned leadership young because leadership is a function of character and courage."

Accolades on the veep choice poured in from Republicans.

In a statement, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called Ryan, the House budget chairman, "a confirmation that Gov. Romney is serious about strengthening America's economic future, tackling the deficits and debt that have skyrocketed under President Obama, and returning to a path to solvency and security."

Pawlenty, in New Hampshire, called Ryan "a respected leader and a bold thinker regarding the changes needed to restore America."

But the Obama campaign reacted to the announcement making familiar charges against the architect of GOP budget plans and tried to tie him to the incumbent's predecessor, which is consistently blamed for the country's economic doldrums.

"In naming Congressman Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney has chosen a leader of the House Republicans who shares his commitment to the flawed theory that new budget-busting tax cuts for the wealthy, while placing greater burdens on the middle class and seniors, will somehow deliver a stronger economy," it said in a statement.

"The architect of the radical Republican House budget, Ryan, like Romney, proposed an additional $250,000 tax cut for millionaires, and deep cuts in education from Head Start to college aid. His plan also would end Medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher system, shifting thousands of dollars in health care costs to seniors. As a member of Congress, Ryan rubber-stamped the reckless Bush economic policies that exploded our deficit and crashed our economy. Now the Romney-Ryan ticket would take us back by repeating the same, catastrophic mistakes."

[URL="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/11/democratic-attacks-on-ryan-focus-on-changes-to-medicare-and-medicaid/"]Democratic attacks on Ryan focus on changes to Medicare and Medicaid[/URL]

The bus tour will take Romney through major media markets in four battleground states -- Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Ohio.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, once a potential running mate, introduced Romney. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Richmond native, joined Romney at stops in the commonwealth on Saturday.

Prior to Saturday's announcement, many Republicans who spoke to CNN -- all of them granted anonymity to speak freely without angering Romney officials in Boston -- wondered why Romney would announce the pick on a weekend when millions of potential voters are likely to be distracted by the Olympics, PGA golf, late-season baseball and the box office release of the latest Bourne thriller.

[I]CNN's Peter Hamby, John Helton, Martina Stewart, Rachel Streitfeld and Tom Watkins contributed to this report[/I][/QUOTE]

By Kevin Bohn, [COLOR=#0000ff]CNN Senior Producer[/COLOR][I]
Updated 11:58 AM EDT, Sat August 11, 2012[/I]

[QUOTE][video]http://cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2012/08/11/bts-romney-ryan-vp-announcement.cnn[/video]

Washington (CNN) -- Just a few minutes after 7 a.m. on Saturday, Mitt Romney took a step many political experts did not think he would -- choosing a controversial and bold running mate and making one of the most important announcements of his campaign at a time many did not expect.

Rep. Paul Ryan admits that he is the poster child for controversial proposals to reform the nation's entitlement programs: For workers now under the age of 55, seniors would be given the option of choosing a private program instead of the traditional Medicare program and would receive money to offset the premium they have to pay. Federal spending for Medicaid would be sent to the states to manage, and the Social Security retirement age would gradually be raised to 70.

Because of those positions and his full-throttled defense of them, CNN chief political analyst Gloria Borger calls the pick "a risky choice that could hurt Mitt Romney" and also said it "may be too risky, but is bold."

Republican consultant Ford O'Connell said making a bold choice like Ryan was necessary.

[URL="http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/11/politics/romney-ryan/index.html"]Romney announces Ryan as his running mate[/URL]

"With Mitt Romney losing ground to President Obama in the polls, I don't see the selection of Paul Ryan as 'risky,' I see the choice as bold and necessary," O'Connell wrote in an email to CNN. "Ryan will certainly help Romney shore up his support with the GOP base, and it will send a clear message to independent voters that Romney is serious about getting the country's fiscal house in order and putting Americans back to work."

CNN senior political analyst David Gergen says the Ryan pick is, "an opportunity for the Romney campaign to go on the offense."

Ryan is seen as a plainspoken Midwesterner who doesn't back down from positions.

[URL="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/11/democratic-attacks-on-ryan-focus-on-changes-to-medicare-and-medicaid/"]Democratic attacks on Ryan focus on changes to Medicare and Medicaid[/URL]

"If you don't address these issues now, they're going to steamroll us as a country. And the issue is the more you delay fixing these problems, the much uglier the solutions are going to be," Ryan told Borger in an interview last year. "We literally go about $10 trillion deeper in the hole of our unfunded government promises every year we delay fixing the problem."

Several leading conservative voices, including the Weekly Standard and the Wall Street Journal, had pushed Romney this week to be bold.

"The case for Mr. Ryan is that he best exemplifies the nature and stakes of this election. More than any other politician, the House Budget Chairman has defined those stakes well as a generational choice about the role of government and whether America will once again become a growth economy or sink into interest-group dominated decline," the Journal said in an editorial on Thursday.

The Journal argued that a Ryan choice would help the Republicans.

[URL="http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/11/opinion/zelizer-vice-president/index.html"]Opinion: How Ryan could help Romney[/URL]

"The larger strategic point is that Mr. Romney's best chance for victory is to make this a big election over big issues. Mr. Obama and the Democrats want to make this a small election over small things -- Mitt's taxes, his wealth, Bain Capital. As the last two months have shown, Mr. Romney will lose that kind of election. To win, Mr. Romney and the Republicans have to rise above those smaller issues and cast the choice as one about the overall direction and future of the country."

Ryan, a 42-year-old fitness freak, also brings a youthful vigor to the campaign and is an energetic campaigner and debater. He jogged tieless onto the stage on Saturday as Romney introduced him to a cheering crowd.

But there will be those who question whether a House member whose primary focus has been fiscal issues is ready to be commander-in-chief.

Obama's campaign quickly fired off a statement looking to define the contrasts in the campaign: The Republican ticket favors tax cuts for the wealthy while putting a greater burden on the middle class, it would gut Medicare and shift costs to the elderly, and it would make deep cuts in education.

As statement from Obama campaign manager Jim Messina also invoked the B-word:

"As a member of Congress, Ryan rubber-stamped the reckless Bush economic policies that exploded our deficit and crashed our economy. Now the Romney-Ryan ticket would take us back by repeating the same, catastrophic mistakes," Messina wrote.

[URL="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/11/exclusive-how-romney-chose-his-running-mate/"]Exclusive: How Romney chose his running mate[/URL]

Besides the choice of who, political analysts also call the timing of the Ryan announcement bold.

While most vice presidential picks have been announced only days before the Republican convention, Romney is unveiling his ticket -- which the campaign is calling "America's Comeback Team" -- more than two weeks before the GOP gathers in Tampa, Florida. Some experts have said such an early choice would diminish any bump in the polls the campaign might see.

The Romney campaign argues that the continuous news environment in the nation now means old rules may not apply. It is hoping that Ryan's unveiling will get a lot of positive coverage as it couples the announcement with a bus tour of swing states through Tuesday.

Romney's aides hope the coverage will give the campaign a break from some of the bad press it has gotten over the last week following gaffes during his tour of Europe and Israel, relentless calls for Romney to release more of his tax returns and falling poll numbers.

[I]How do you feel about Romney selecting Ryan as his running mate? Let us know on CNN iReport.[/I][/QUOTE]