We're keeping our ear on the Sunday talk shows this morning. Obviously the topic of the day is Rep. Paul Ryan, whom the Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has chosen as his running mate.
Both parties have already traded hard shots, but it appears there is agreement that the addition of Ryan, who has led the GOP on matters of budget, focuses this presidential election. It is now focused on a broader narrative about the size and role of government.
We'll update this post with the highlights as the morning progresses:
-- On Meet The Press, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says that adding Ryan to the ticket gives the American people what they want: A politician who speaks hard truths and is willing to make tough decisions despite political consequence.
Walker adds that with Ryan, Wisconsin all of a sudden becomes competitive for Republicans.
-- David Axelrod, one of Obama's senior strategists, was also on Meet The Press. He did not hold back. His message was that with Ryan, the Republicans are choosing a set of policy that gives the rich massive tax cuts, while slashing programs that benefit the poor and middle class.
The Romney/Ryan economic plan, said Axelrod, "is a prescription for economic catastrophe."
-- Bill Bennett, the conservative radio show host and former education secretary, makes a salient point on Meet The Press: The one thing that people aren't talking about is Ryan's ability to "argue and persuade." He thinks that will play a big role during this election.
-- On This Week, Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean said the problem with the Ryan pick is that he is "well outside the mainstream" of American politics.
Specifically, he said, Ryan's budget ideas would mean "radical change" and has all of a sudden shifted the narrative in the election from a "referendum on Barack Obama to a referendum on Republican economic policy."
-- Political analyst and Morning Edition contributor Cokie Roberts added that this choice was made to shore up the base.
"People have their mind made up their minds" in this election. This choice is to make sure that the conservative base comes out to vote.
-- Newt Gingrich, who famously called the Ryan budget "right-wing social engineering" was on Face the Nation.He walked away from those comments saying Ryan was an "extraordinarily exciting choice."
He fought back against the Congressional Budget Office, which has said that the Ryan budget doesn't cut the deficit for decades. He called the independent agency's conclusions "factually false."
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