Posted on Thursday, August 16, 2012 - 10:55 am:

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Paul Ryan: A Bold, Smart Choice
By Michael Reagan, August 15, 2012

Choosing Paul Ryan is a game-changer.

Ask the Chicago Gang and its publicists in the mainstream media. They're terrified.

They know that when Mitt Romney chose Ryan for his vice president, it re-defined the Romney campaign overnight.

It proved Mitt was not as boring, cautious and moderate as conservative Republicans feared and the Obama Left hoped.

In one bold, smart move, Romney's VP choice makes it clear that this election is about one thing -- the economy.

And there is no better person on the planet to discuss that issue than Ryan, the young, articulate, spirited, openly Reaganesque conservative who heads up the House Budget Committee and is the leading Republican deficit hawk in Congress.

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Posted on Thursday, August 16, 2012 - 11:14 am:

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Americans Continue to Give Obama Low Marks on the Economy
Low rating on the economy may be more problematic than even lower deficit rating

by Lydia Saad, Aug 16, 2012, Gallup.com

Three months before the election, President Barack Obama gets good marks from Americans for his handling of terrorism, fair marks for education and foreign affairs, but poor marks on immigration and three big economic issues: the federal budget deficit, creating jobs, and the economy generally.

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Posted on Thursday, August 16, 2012 - 01:11 pm:

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Mitt Romney’s Strategy to Win the Medicare Debate
By David Muir, Aug 16, 2012

There is clearly a concerted effort by Team Romney to get out ahead of the Medicare debate.

Democrats have argued that Rep. Paul Ryan‘s various proposals to solve the budget problem would essentially end Medicare by making it a more market-based system for people under 55.

We’re now starting to hear and see a plan of attack emerge from the Romney campaign to combat those assertions.

Ryan — as he did last night in Oxford, Ohio, and will continue to do today — argues that they welcome the debate on this.

“We want this debate, we need this debate, and we will win this debate,” Ryan told the large rally at Miami University in Ohio.

Ryan has also been going out of his way to say he and Romney don’t want to change Medicare for anyone 55 and older. And for those younger — you’ll have a choice between the same Medicare you’ve always known, or a voucher-like system that allows you to find your own coverage. Ryan does not use the word voucher.

Ryan’s earliest budget proposal did not include the option to stay with Medicare as we know it, but that has been added to subsequent proposals.

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Posted on Friday, August 17, 2012 - 04:58 am:

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Can Paul Ryan Be a Progressive Hero? How Romney's Choice Could Win the Left, the Right and the White House
By Bill Shireman, Aug 16, 2012

No sooner had Mitt Romney announced his running mate than political strategists for both sides began spinning him into a straightjacket.

But for once, they were dressing him in the same clothes. Both sides cast Paul Ryan as a conservative ideologue who would dramatically cut the size, cost, and power of the federal government, expand domestic energy development, and allow individuals and companies to succeed or fail based on their own initiative.

...Together, [Rommey and Ryan] can do something almost unprecedented in recent politics. They can tell Americans the truth.

How can [they] attract the center and left, while maintaining the conservative base? By taking one more bold step, and telling the nation three simple truths.

The first truth is that conservatives are right -- as a nation, we are out of money and deep in debt.

The second truth is that liberals are also right -- we can't pay off our debt by extracting it from the poor, the middle class, or the environment.

The third truth is that to meet both our economic and our social obligations, we can't just spend-baby-spend or drill-baby-drill, as the left and right propose. Nor can we force the nation into a right-wing social straightjacket that idealizes the 1950s.

Instead, America needs to create value again. For that to happen, we need to change the way we tax, spend, and grow.

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Posted on Friday, August 17, 2012 - 06:24 am:

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Radford Baker's Business Booms After Biden Brushoff
By Mason Adams
The Roanoke Times
August 17, 2012

Just call him "Chris the Baker."

Chris McMurray had just opened his family's bakery, Crumb & Get It Cookie Co., on Wednesday morning when he received a visit from Joe Biden's advance team asking if he'd host the vice president for a media event before a speech at Virginia Tech. McMurray politely declined out of a difference in politics, and Biden instead went up the street to [redacted].

Later that day, WDBJ (Channel 7) reporter Orlando Salinas received a tip about Crumb & Get It via text message. The resulting story was picked up by the Drudge Report and a series of conservative blogs, leading to an outpouring of support online and at the store Thursday.

At noon, McMurray turned down an interview request because he was too busy fielding a steady stream of orders, both from customers at the store and from out-of-state patrons. A little more than an hour later, he closed the store because it had run out of cookie dough. It reopened a few minutes later, but with a sign in the window noting that only ice cream was being sold.

"It's been a great day, a lot of great support," McMurray said when he had a moment to talk. "A lot of folks are calling orders from out of state for local businesses and charities. That's what we've got to catch up on."

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Posted on Friday, August 17, 2012 - 09:40 am:

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Romney Campaign Raises $10M with Careful Ryan Rollout
By Joy Lin, August 17, 2012

The Romney campaign has managed to both bury the headline and make the lead.

Saturday morning is hardly primetime in the news business -- viewership is down, internet traffic is low, radios are turned off. Yet the Romney campaign has demonstrated an affinity for timing the release of their headlines to Saturday mornings: last weekend it was the announcement of Paul Ryan as running mate, and this weekend it will be Ryan's highly anticipated debut in the crucial swing state of Florida, where the House Budget Committee Chairman will address the controversial subject of Medicare reform with senior citizens at The Villages retirement community. The speech is so important that Ryan's 78-year-old mother Betty Douglas will also be there, if only to reinforce the message of her son's good intentions.

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Posted on Friday, August 17, 2012 - 11:33 am:

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Romney's Present, Ryan's Future
By Charles Krauthammer, August 17, 2012

Vice presidential picks are always judged by their effect on the coming election. They rarely have any.

This time could be different. The Democrats' Mediscare barrage is already in full swing. Paul Ryan, it seems, is determined to dispossess grandma, then toss her over a cliff. If the charge is not successfully countered, goodbye Florida.

Republicans have a twofold answer. First, hammer home that their plan affects no one over 55, let alone 65. Second, go on offense. Point out that President Obama cuts Medicare by $700 billion to finance Obamacare.

It's a sweet judo throw: Want to bring up Medicare, supposedly our weakness? Fine. But now you've got to debate Obamacare, your weakness -- and explain why you are robbing granny's health care to pay for your pet project.

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Posted on Friday, August 17, 2012 - 11:44 am:

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Youth Vote Slipping from Obama
By Charlie Kirk Aug 17, 2012

...A new poll by John Zogby [see article below - FB] shows for the first time over 40% of younger voters back Mitt Romney. This number is astounding, considering President Obama has 27 million LIKES on Facebook, 18 million followers on Twitter, and is still considered to be very likable. Although, despite his 'likability" younger generations are tired of the same political talking points, and empty promises. They are looking for a problem solving candidate, or two.

Since the selection of Paul Ryan, we have seen Governor Romney’s youth approval ratings increase steadily. Congressman Ryan brings a youthful approach to politics; he does p90x, listens to Led Zeppelin, and is only 42 years old. But most importantly, he has a solid record of proposing solutions. Many of my friends disagree with Congressman Ryan's solutions; they think they are 'extreme' and 'radical'. He has won over their support because he has a plan and he sticks by it. Something President Obama has failed to do during his tenure as President.

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A Romney First: Over 40% Of Youth Vote Back Him
Aug 15, 2012

For the first time since he began running for president, Republican Mitt Romney has the support of over 40 percent of America's youth vote, a troubling sign for President Obama who built his 2008 victory with the overwhelming support of younger, idealistic voters.

Pollster John Zogby of JZ Analytics told Secrets Tuesday that Romney received 41 percent in his weekend poll of 1,117 likely voters, for the first time crossing the 40 percent mark. What's more, he said that Romney is the only Republican of those who competed in the primaries to score so high among 18-29 year olds.

"This is the first time I am seeing Romney's numbers this high among 18-29 year olds," said Zogby. "This could be trouble for Obama who needs every young voter he can get."

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