their lives to help those in need. thank you for watching today. i'm randi kaye and you can always continue the conversation on twitter. "state of the union" begins with "state of the union" begins with candy crowley right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com a dynamic decision to shake up the race one way or the other. today, it is romney/ryan, a little known seven-term congressman from wisconsin catapults into the national are arena. >> we won't duck the tough issues. we will lead. we won't blame others. we will take responsibility. we won't replace our founding principles. we will reapply them. >> romney's pick, firing up the base. our conservation with south dakota republican john thune, and then re-oping the search with david axelrod and ed

gillespie on why his candidate gambled on a wonk who is wanting to overhaul medicare. and then risk/reward, ron brown, and cnn's dan lothian. i'm candy crowley. this is "state of the union." the campaign trail is most often a series of mind-numbing days interrupted by the ones that you will never forget, and the days when you know that one way or another, something has changed, and saturday was one of those days for mitt romney. >> what works here, and what works around the world is free people pursuing their dreams. we want those dreamers here. we can accomplish our dreams. >> because as much as voters learned about paul ryan yesterday, they may have learned more about romney first and foremost that this most cautious of candidates will take a big risk for the potential of a big payoff. at first blush this much could be said for the ryan pick, it appears to have brought home

conservatives. joining fouser a conversation of that and more i john thune, s senator from south dakota, and that is the first question that we have seen is some hesitation, and some skepticism or whatever you want to call it by conservatives who by the way very publicly pushed for paul ryan to be the pick. do you think that this settles conservative doubts or hesitations about mitt romney? >> well, good morni, candy. what i think it does is it certainly demonstrates that governor romney is very serious about doing big things for the country, and wants this campaign to be about the big things, and in a discussion about the future of the country, it is a decisive pick, and bold pick as you mentioned. i congratulate him for it, because i think that paul ryan represents the kind of leadership that people in this country are hungry for, and his efforts to not only define the issues that we need to face as we get into the days and the weeks and the months and the years ahead, but also to come up

with solutions to those issues, and it is something that i think that will serve as a great asset to governor romney and the campaign, butt is clearly something that i think that conservatives are receptive to, and paul ryan is viewed favorably out there among the conservatives and as you mentioned a number of them encouraging governor romney to make a pick like that, and paul ryan represents everything that conservatives hoped for in terms of a real contrast as we head into the fall campaign. >> it is not at the same time a pick by mitt romney that shows he agrees with some of the critics up to now that have said that romney thought he could run a campaign based solely on the obama e kconomy? >> well, i think that a lot of us and many of us who support governor romney believe that this is a referendum on the obama economy, and the obama economy, and again to be fair to the. president, he inherited a bad economy, but after

three-and-a-half years of his policies, it is much, much worse. we have 23 million americans unemployed or underemployed and wages are down. health care costs are up. college tuition costs are up. fuel costs are up. the economy as a whole is really in very, very rough shape, and i think that is something that this president has to own. it is his economy, but i do believe that governor romney in make making this pick has said, i'm going to take the game to my op poept. 'm not going to sit back and run the clock out and hold the ball, this is a campaign about big issues and about a different vision, contrasting vision about the future of the country. it is a good for governor romney and demonstrates leadership and decisi decisiveness on his part, but better for the country to have this debate. >> do you agree a risk to the pick when you look to the

general electorate, and how would you describe that risk? >> well, you know, i think that it is going to be described that way. and obviously, people are going to say that this represents, you know, a direction for the country in picking somebody like paul ryan who is very identified with certain policy prescriptions for social security and medicare for example, and people are going to describe it that way, but i don't view it that way at all. it is a risk for president obama to have someone like a ticket like a romney/ryan ticket where you have actually laid out de n definitive solutions and answers to america's problems. this president has kicked the can down the road on every major issue and not somebody who has provided the leadership that the country needs to get the economy back on track and get people back to work or to deal with this trajectory that we have right now of year over year trillion dollar deficits. the risk, and this is a bigger risk for the president, because they will attack the romney or the ryan budget as cutting medicare, but the president is the only one in campaign who has

cut medicare to the tune of $700 billion, so there is a considerable risk for the president to have this ticket opposing them in the fall campaign. >> sure. on the other hand, you know how elections work. they are not always the best formats for lengthy discussions about line by line bills and what it would and wouldn't do, and if you look at history in terms of candidates who talk about privatization of sial security, partial privatization, and who look at medicare and say, we have to change the way we are doing business, that is almost certain to be something that will shake up seniors, and even as you try to tell them it is not going to affect them, because they are already receiving benefits. how would you suggest that they approach what is already the criticism that paul ryan simply fits in with mitt romney's plan to make the middle-class and now add seniors to that, take all of the burden on? >> wl, i think that you always

have the challenge when you are explain iing something like tha to be able to help people out there, american public, understand, educate them on what is at stake. i think that the biggest risk for the country is doing nothing. that is what ends medicare as we know it. that is doing nothing. you have to have a plan to fix it. i think that paul ryan to his credit, whether you like it or not, has come up with a plan that puts medicare on a more sustainable fiscal path going forward. now, independents across the country -- >> is that going to -- >> well, i don't think so. if you get out to explain that and people understand about florida and senior citizens over the age of 55 are not impacted by that, but people younger than age of 55 who would have more options and more choice and greater competition and hopefully more affordable health care in the future. so i think that part of the explaining it, and there is no better person to do that than paul ryan, because he is the man

who best understands the budgetary implications of doing nothing as well as laying out a specific plan that will save and strengthen medicare for the future. so i think that this is a very, and it is really a strong move by mitt romney, and it shows his desire to make this campaign about big things as well as to create a very clear distinction and contrast be tween someone who wants to fix the problem and face the challenges of the future and someone like president obama who for three-and-a-half years now not only made the matters worse, but has not laid anything forward in terms of a plan to address the big issues. >> if you could give me a quick answer to theel lowing. one of the big hole in the numbers that we see when you look at mitt romney's approval rating is women and minorities. does the addition of paul ryan to the ticket add a thing in terms of attracting either one of those demographics? >> well, frankly, i think that the most women across the country care like everybody does about the issue which is jobs

and the economy. so if the romney/ryan ticket can articulate a clear vision of how to get the economy growing and exnding again and get the americans back to work, that will attract the women voters. right now, people are holding back and waiting for the fall campaign to get under way, and they will have a clear choice in front of them. >> senator john thune, thank you for getting up this morning to join us. we appreciate it. >> great to be with you. thank you, candy. >> mitt romney and congressman ryan are in north carolina gettg ready for the first rally of the day, and once it gets going, we will te you there live. in the meantime, congressman lie ryan is widely described as a intellectual type, bue can throw a political punch like this one aimed at president obama. >> he's going to divide and distract this country to win an election by default. and you know what, we are not going to fall for that. >> president obama's senior adviser david axelrod up next.

you see us, at the start of the day. on the company phone list that's a few names longer. you see us bank on busier highways. on once empty fields. everyday you see all the ways all of us at us bank are helping grow our economy. lending more so companies and communities can expand, grow stronger and get back to work. everyday you see all of us serving you,

around the country, around the corner. us bank. this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businees and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world.

the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com.

[ slap! ] [ slap! slap! slap! slap! ] ow! [ male announcer ] when your favorite foods fight you, fight back fast with tums smoothies. so fast and smooth, you'll forget you had heartburn. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums [ male announcer ] tums smoothies. > joining me now is david axelrod, senior adviser to the obama campaign, and david, thank you for joining us. >> sure, candy. good to be with you. >> i know that you were with the president yesterday and on a big day for the republican ticket, and also some famous public

scenes exchanges between the president and congressman ryan over health care. the president went to a republican retreat once and challenged by congressman ryan, a and what does the president think of him? >> well, i think that he thinks that he a perfectly genial and bright guy, but the theory is wrong. congressman ryan is a right-wing id log and theologue and that i in the budgets he has constructed for the republican house, and trillions of tax cuts to the wealthy so that we are giving a millionaire $250,000 tax cuts while we cut college aid for kids and research and development, and a whole range of things that we need to grow. he disagrees with congressman ryan's idea that we should turn medicare into a voucher program, shifting thousands of dollars ultimately on to the backs of seniors. disagrees with congressman ryan on a woman's right to choose.

congressman ryan would ban a woman's right to choose even in cases of rape and incest, so he is quite extreme. good, good person, but, you know, genial person, but the views are harsh. >> you describe him as extreme, so i want to take you back to a december 15th, "wall street journal" op-ed which the congressman wrote with congressman ron widen who is a member of your party, and seen certainly as a moderate to liberal democrat, and the two of them together came up with a plan to help save medicare and they wrote, "our plan would strengthen traditional medicare by permanently maintaining it as a permanent and viable option for all of the nation's retirees." so this extreme plan has been signed on to and one of the authors of it is a member of your own party, and why is that extreme? >> well, i just disagree with senator wyden on this, and

congressman ryan and so have most of the experts who have looked at this and said that the way that the thing is construct ed that medicare would be in a death spiral under this plan, and ultimately it would raise costs on seniors by thousands of dollars. so, you know, that -- and the truth is, candy, that this is the second it rati iter ration congressman ryan's wanting to do away with medicare, and it was called right-wing socitactics. he is out to promote fraud and abuse and promoting better ways of reviving medicare and not

dispell tdi dispel the demise. >> if you look at the savings and if you could name me the one thing that president obama has done over the course of the first three and half years that you think that will save medicare in the years ahead knowing that the baby boom is aging, what has he done? >> well, candy, first of all, you and i should not, and we should leave it to the experts to say that the congressional budget office said what president obama has done is to add eight years to the life of medicare, and what romney and ryan propose -- >> is that sufficient? >> no. we have to do more -- >> what way? >> in the budget he does more in terms of delivery of services and how that is done. he does ask a little more of upper income seniors, and in terms of waste, fraud and abuse, you are right, people say it, but this administration has done it. he has increased health care prosecutions, health care fraud prosecutions by 75%, and recovered tens of billions of

dollars. that is what we need to do. and everybody knows that there is a lot of waste there that we can get at, but what we don't want to do is to turn it into a bonanza for the insurance companies with the cost of it being borne by senior citizens, and that what would happen if we follow, and if we followed congress mman ryan's road map. >> as romney is the top of the ticket, and as i understand his medicare proposal right now, medicare would be one of the choices list ed in along with private plans that would compete with medicare and seniors could have the choice which is not unlike how you all set up health care insurance in the health care bill so what is so bad about that? >> actually, it is not, because we don't have a public option in the health care bill. but, you are taking a system that is fundamentally worked, medicare, and you are giving people incentives essentially of

going into the private health care system, and what is going to happen is that the private system will bid and compete for a healthiest younger seniors and they will leave the sickest and the most needy of seniors in the medicare program and it is going to drive costs up for medicare and ultimately, it is going to destroy the program. >> let me ask you in turn a little bit to ask you whether you think that this choice by mitt romney has shaken up the race, and in what way? >> well, it has helped further define the race. i don't think it has shaken up the race, because governor romney has embraceded many of the positions that congressman ryan espouses extreme as they sound. i mean, he is for the trillions of dollars of tax cuts for millionaires, and you know, candy, one interesting thing that congressman ryan had a proposal in 2010 and if you took governor romney's tax returns and applied the changes that congressman ryan want ted to ma

to the tax system, governor romney would pay less than 1%, and we know that he paid 13.9%. how is that going to strengthen the country and the economy and help the middle-class? so i think that they are kindred spirits on sol of the policies and certainly on the social issues, they have come together banning abortion and so on. but i don't believe these are mainstream positions in the country. >> okay. let me show you our late st cnn/orc poll, and the question is how are things going in the country today, and right now only about 36% of americans think that things are going well. 63% think that things are going poorly, so a seven-point drop since april on whether people believe that the country is going well. what has happened? >> well, the question is, well, look, we have just come through a catastrophic experience that was brought on by policies that by the way congressman ryan in his role in congress embraced in whole.

the whole bush economic -- >> but this is going to other way, is what i am saying, and before april, we had been seeing an increasing number of people saying, things are going fairly well again and now all of the suddenb, it has dropped? >> well, we know that we have experienced some headwinds because of europe and other f factors that have slowed our growth in the past few months and picked up private sector jobs picked up in the last month, but here's the point, candy, you are not reading the entire poll. it also shows that the president is lengthening the lead, and people have more confidence in him to fight for the middle class and look for solutions that will strengthen the economy in a way that creates broad prosperity, and governor romney's negatives have risen there, and people are taking a good hard look at him and his policies and made a decision. that is the rest of the poll and it is signicant. >> david axelrod, senior adviser to the obama campaign, thank you for joining us this morning,

david. >> all right. thank you, candy. a view from the other side. we will talk to mitt romney's senior adviser, and chairman of the republican party. the shrimp, the steaks. it locks in the flavor, it seals in the juices so that when you put the fork in it, it just goes through it like butter. it's beautiful. [ laughs ] i'm proud to be a grill master. i love food. my name is charles himple. i'm a red lobster grill master and i sea food differently.

my name is charles himple. by what's getting done. measure commitment the twenty billion dollars bp committed has helped fund economic and environmental recovery. long-term, bp's made a five hundred million dollar commitment to support scientists studying the environment. and the gulf is open for business - the beaches are beautiful, the seafood is delicious. last year, many areas even reported record tourism seasons. the progress continues... but that doesn't mean our job is done. we're still committed to seeing this through. you tell us what you want to pay, and we give you a range of coverages to choose from. who is she? that's flobot. she's this new robot we're trying out, mostly for, like, small stuff. wow! look at her go! she's pretty good. she's pretty good. hey, flobot, great job. oops. [ powers down ] uh-oh, flobot is broken.

the "name your price" tool, only from progressive. call or click today. fore! no matter what small business you are in, managing expenses seems to... get in the way. not anymore. ink, the small business card from chase introduces jot an on-the-go expense app made exclusively for ink customers. custom categorize your expenses anywhere. save time and get back to what you love. the latest innovation. only for ink customers. learn more at chase.com/ink

i'm joined now by ed gillespie, a senior adviser for

the romney campaign. ed, good to see you. >> good to see you. >> big day for the campaign yesterday, and we have heard so many people interpret what it meant for the campaign and what it said about mitt romney, and so why don't you tell us from the insooide-out, what was the message that you all were trying to send yesterday with this pick? >> well, the message was that this is a big election, and it is about big issues and it needs to be serious, and governor romney has been putting forward the romney plan for a stronger middle-class for a long time. our first ads were about what he would do as president. in picking paul ryan says that we will choose someone here who has a record of taking on the tough issues of facing the challenges that we confront as a country and providing solutions and answers to those things, and i think that it shows that we're not going to be distracted by some of the little things that the obama campaign wants to be constantly putting out there. we want to talk about the big

issue issues and it is a bold move by governor romney. >> that is the beauty of this to change the conversation of where are the tax returns and been about bain and what the decisions that bain did or didn't do, and to folks, but there has also been a since that the romney campaign could go along saying that the economy is bad, and the economy is bad, and elect somebody else, and this is a decision saying, i understand that we have to move this forward. >> well, candy, any presidential election where you have an incumbent seeking re-election is about the referendum about performance. and we have concerns and the country has concerns about the record run of unemployment of 8% and falling incomes, and about our debt being downgraded and the massive debt, but we also have, you know, put forward to a solution, and governor romney has put forward a solution, and the romney/ryan ticket puts forward big ideas that the american people deserve to take into account for an election.

>> we have to look at an internal romney memo from yesterday, and here are the possible questions that you will get about the pick and here is how to answer them, and one of them is about how do you sign on to the so-called ryan budget, and his ideas in particular about medicare, and the ryan suggestions for that, and the internal memo said that governor romney applauds paul ryan for going in the right direction for his budget, and as president, he will put together his own plan for cutting the deficit and putting the budget on a path to balance." and we don't actually embrace the ryan plan, and you can't have a guy on the ticket without him embracing the fullness of the plan? >> well, as governor romney has made clear, if the romney, sorry, if the ryan budget had come to his desk as budget, he would have signed it of course, and one of the reasons that he chose congressman ryan is his willingness to put forward innovative solutions in the budget. but it is the romney/ryan

ticket, and as president romney will be putting forth his own budget, but in terms of the medicare proposal that senator wyden and congressman ryan have put together, and the ryan/wyden plan is something that governor romney agrees is an approach to take, and we need to save medicare for future generations, which ip collu which including giving people the option to stay in the current system if they choose or other options or reforms that could save it for future generation generations. >> you have heard the obama campaign argue that this just puts the costs on seniors, and it will leave them out there as the premium prices continue to rise. you look at a state like florida, but plenty of ther states where senior vote is very important, and you understand, ed, more than anyone, how this kind of thing is so hard to sell to seniors, and you can say all you want that it does not affect those currently on medicare and that is not how it comes across.

we have seen commercial of the ryan plan with an old woman pushing her off of the cliff. this is a third rail and how do you fight that and the campaign trail? >> well, candy, you know, the campaign of hope and change of 2011 has diminished to the campaign of fear and smear in 2012. we understand that. we understand that they are going to try -- and look, the other side has accused governor romney of being a felon and being responsible for the tragic death of a woman. they will do all kinds of things to scare voters. the voters will look at the facts and the facts inclollude the fact that -- >> why is it different now, because it includes now, i remember in the mondale campaign he said, i am going to tell the truth and tell you what we have to do and raise taxes, and he lost, and it sounds great, talk about the big ideas and a good way to push off some of the stuff that the obama campaign has gone after you all for, but

as a sheer kind of campaign tactic, it seems to me that you all now own as we say the ryan plan or are going to have to convince folks that this is not about budget cutting, but about saving it. >> well, mitt romney and paul ryan, agree and share a view that we need to make hard choices, and we need to save entitlement programs for future generations. what they are talking about doing, and would actually save medicare and what the obama administration has done, and one, they raided the medicare accounts for $716 billion and spent it on the massive increase in government known as obama care. and two, they are doing nothing to save it for future generations, and medicare part a will gbankrupt in 12 years, candy. and so the fact a is that there is only one ticket that is in favor raiding medicare to the tune of over $700 billion and allow ing it to go bankrupt and

another ticket to protect medicare and save it for future generations and that is the romney/ryan ticket. >> i want to show you something from the poll that was taken before ryan was chosen or at least before we knew he had been chosen and this is a list of favorables an unfavorables and the unfavorables have gone up for your candidate from 42 in july to 48 now in where we are now in august. this is a tough number. somebody in the campaign once told me, you know, we do need them to like our guy. that hasn't happened. can you do something to turn that around? >> well first of all, a ton of money spent in the target states by the obama campaign -- >> and a ton more left. >> and governor romney. and we are at a point where people are starting to p attention to this race, voters in the middle and the undecideds, and they will see in

mitt romney someone who is genuinely a good person, and over time people form conclusions -- >> how? how will they? >> well, if you saw him yesterday, and saw for example paul ryan talking about the governor's record of success in massachusetts where unemployment went down and household incomes went up, and the credit rating in massachusetts was upgraded in contrast to the obama record. when they learn about his success in the private sector helping to create jobs. when they learn what he did to save the olympics andhen they learn about the kind of family person he is, and those things, i think that the convention will enable us to convey for more of that, and it is worth noting, candy n the p candy, in the process of trying to drive up romney's negatives president obama's negatives went up as well. when you look at the ballot test, i feel very good about where governor romney is today and would much rather play our hand than theirs in this election. >> next stop, the kconvention?

>> next stop, well, we have a few more stops along the way before the convention. >> and that is the next big time that folks are looking for, and what is the tone to set there? >> we want to make clear we have a plan for if future and future-oriented approach that governor romney and congressman ryan are putting forth in contrast to the negative campaign. in is a substance-driven campaign versus a fear and smear campaign. i think they the american people are going to see the big choices that are before them and what kind of country and people we want to be as paul ryan said yesterday. >> ed gillespie, republican strategist for the romney campai campaign, thank you for being here. >> thanks for having me. paul ryan is on the ticket and that means a seat on the campaign bus. they are in north carolina today, and we will take you there live. that cloud is in the network, so it can deliver all the power of the network itself. bringing people together to develop the best ideas --

and providing the apps and computing power to make new ideas real. it's the cloud from at&t. with new ways to work together, business works better. ♪

but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair.

if you're still having difficulty breathing, ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com.

mitt romney and congressman ryan are getting ready for their first rally of the day. our cnn national correspondent jim acosta is in north carolina, and what is the day, jim? >> candy, the message is going to be on the economy, and they

are getting into the spirit here at this nascar facility in charlotte, and just behind me is a mitt romney racecar that, you know, it could very well take the field if it were, if it were allowed to, but yes, the message is the economy today. the campaign pointing out in a briefing to reporters earlier in the morning, that the unemployment right here in north carolina, a state that president obama won four years ago is higher that on the national average, so expect romney and ryan to go after that today, and what i saw from mitt romney is very interesting. we are seeing a noticeably looser mitt romney since he announced paul ryan on the campaign plane last night. romney was chatting extensively with the reporters and paul ryan at his side much more so than we have seen earlier in the campaign, but we will have to see how long that lasts. the campaign is already taking questions about the ryan budget. rlier in the morning, the campaign spokesman kevin madden said to the reporters that it is mitt romney who is at the top of the ticket suggesting that the paul ryan plan will not be

adopted in its entirety by the campaign and by mitt romney if he elected president. one thing that is very interesting is in the coming days, we will see paul ryan basically separating from mitt romney and campaigning solo on behalf of this ticket starting in iowa tomorrow. kevin madden told us at a briefing earlier, a spokesman for the romney campaign that we may see ryan by himself on the campaign trail all of the way to the convention, candy. >> thank you, jim acosta, and we will be checking back in with you. first up, all things politics, and what a great personb to talk about it is dan lothian and also the national journal's ron brown.

>> announcer: meet tom, a proud dad whose online friends all "like" the photos he's posting. oscar likes tom's photos, but he loves the access to tom's personal information. oscar's an identity thief who used tom's personal info to buy new teeth and a new car, and stuck tom with the $57,000 bill. [tires squeal] now meet carl who works from the coffee shop and uses the free wi-fi. marie works from there too. she's an identity thief who used a small device to grab his wi-fi signal, then stole enough personal information to hijack and drain his bank accounts. every year, millions of americans learn all it may take to devastate your life is a little personal information in the wrong hands. this is identity theft and no one helps stop it better than lifelock. lifelock offers the most comprehensive identity theft protection, period. ordinary credit monitoring services may take 30 days to

alert you. lifelock's 24/7 proactive protection would have alerted tom as soon as they noticed an attack within their network, before it was too late. and lifelock's bank account takeover alerts could have notified carl in time to help him protect his money. lifelock protects your social security number, money, credit, even the equity in your home. while identity theft can't be completely stopped, no one protects you better than lifelock, and lifelock stands behind that with the power of their $1 million service guarantee. you have so much to protect and nothing to lose when you call lifelock right now and try 60 days of identity theft protection risk-free. 60 days risk-free. use promo code: be secure order now and get this document shredder, a $29 value free. [♪...] call or go online now. [♪...]

joining me is cnn white house correspondent dan lothian and also political analyst ron brown from the washington journal. and so we have had a busy 24 hours or so. >> yeah. >> yes, exactly. >> and yes, exactly. and i want to first put up a number that we put up in error earlier in the show and ask you something about mitt romney. this is the favorables and the unfavorables before the ryan pick. the favorables are now down slightly, and his unfavorables up after a really long summer of getting pounded. in part, is that why we got the ryan choice as early as we did which is relatively early in the scheme of things? >> yes, in some different pollsters are saying that

romney's negatives at this point in the race are the highest they have ever had for a challenger going into their own convention. look, the vice presidential pick is made for several reasons, personal chemistry, and ryan is a dynamic and effective advocate for the conservative view about retrenching the role of the federal government and hero to many on the right, and the closest since jack kemp in the '70s and his budget has galvanized republicans, but in the end, it is not a pick that romney would have made if he didn't feel like he was forced to shake up the race. this is something that forces them to change the diynamic tha they were on was not sufficient to give them a win. >> it seems like a red bull jolt that they were going for, because despite the fact that theyave been hammering the president at, you know, his economy, his economic plan is not working, and that unemployment still remains high above 8%, the polls show that the president is slightly up,

and now in the more recent poling the president is ahead by 7 points and 9 points, so they had to do something to shake up the race. >> and you know mitt romney, and you covered him in boston and you have known him a long time before he went on to the national scene, when you saw this pick, did you think, wow, very un-romney-like to take something so outside of his comfort zone? >> i looked at it and thought it was not a safe move politically and i thought it was more like getting someone from florida or ohio to deliver the key battleground states, but again, it goes back to the fact that he needed to do something to get some attention to shake things up, and as i was talking to some one from his campaign, they wanted to provide some clarity to the race, and they have done wit this choice. >> well, personally, you can imagine them connecting well sh, and paul ryan is the kind of person that mitt romney would have hired at bain capital and very data driven and serious,

but as a political pick, it is risk/reward. it does galvanize and it raises questions though, because there is an internal conflict between the modern coalition, and the republican coalition. the republican coalition over the past two decades have become dependent on the white collar and elderly people who are comfortable with the middle class entitlements like medicare and social security and not looking for changes in that, but now it is a ryan budget who is forcing the issues right into the forefront. >> and that is just the economy which is what he has spent the last eight years talking about. >> and it bngs you to an ideological debate, if you ask people if the government is too big or small? they feel they can win, but when you get down to it, with the blue collar workers and eldedderly, who are giving their

votes routinely to the republican and congressional candidates they are resistant to changing medicare in particular which they don't view as an entitlement as they do food stamps or welfare. >> well, when you look at the for the obama campaign and for democrats, this is like christmas came early for them. they were going to go after mitt romney and attach paul ryan to mitt romney and everything that he stands for and now they have him as the v.p. choice, and a clear fight. they are going after him in a big way and you saw them rolling out the web ads and sending out message that he is a dangerous pick. >> and thank you both for being with us. a quick reminder that we will go to north carolina shortly for the campaign team's first rally of the day, but next, the racial divide that could sink the republican ticket. ntatural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar.

though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now. take the steps to reach yours, everyowith usgoals. with real advice, for real goals. the us bank wealth management advisor can help you. every step of the way. from big steps, to little steps. since 1863 we've helped guide our clients, so they can take the steps to help grow, preserve, and pass along their wealth. so their footsteps can help the next generation find their own path. all of us serving you. us bank those little things for you, life's about her. but your erectile dysfunction - that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily

ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. i tell mike what i can spend. i do my best to make that work. we're driving safely. and sue saved money on brakes. now that's personal pricing.

we are back with cnn white house correspondent dan lothian and cnn ron, you wrote a really interesting article, we heard about the gender gap and this suburban mom, but we are talking about a huge racial divide and brings to mind, i was looking at ryan yesterday, where romney has problems, minorities and women, does this bring anything to his side by picking ryan? >> here is a measure how much the country has changed in our lifetime. mitt romney is on track to match the best performance ever in the history of polling by a republican challenger among white voters, comp prabl to dwight eisenhower in '52, ronald reagan in 1980 and george h. w. bush in 1988. co-match that and still lose. he could lose, they were losing in '08 and on track of losing in

2012. so, in the question -- the question for the party will be i think after this election, if romney doesn't lose, can you go forward and allow democrats to continue winning 80% of minority voters? candy, the equation for barack obama in november can be summarized pretty easily as 80/40 f he holds 80% of minorities, he can win as little as 40% of white and win that is a pretty high bar to have to cross as a republican nominee to win 60% of whites to win. i think the ryan pick obviously will help we willments of the white community, very skeptical of government, not sure it takes you anywhere with minority voters that tend to be supportive of the safety net he wants to retrench over time. >> reaching out to minorities, not something you can do in september if you are you are the republican party? >> they realized there was nothing he could do to move the needle when it comes to minorities. >> rubio. >> rubio could have done that. >> some think jindal would have been able to do that as well. >> exactly a lot of complaining

among the tea party, the right of the party about mares conservative credentials, he has been able to put that essentially to bed by picking -- making this choice. >> what does it say if you are consolidating your base in august? >> well, look, i think people are going to like paul ryan. i think the american people will like paulryan. the question whether they will like his plan. that is a very different issue. certainly republicans, not anything since the supply side tax cuts of 1970s and real than caught the imagination of the republicans as much as the ryan budget blueprint but it is a fundamental change in of the role in federal government and society, it maintains deficits until 2040. but ultimately, takes the federal government back to 16% of the economy by 2050, which is a level it last was in 1950. so you're talking about a big change over time. republicans want that ideological fight. democrats do the real pick both sides like. >> americans not paying attention at that plan, they will know everything about it now, the democrats are putting

it out there the obama campaign putting it out there >> pushing it forward in our final minute or so at the convention, it seems to me, so correct me if i am wrong, you two, mitt romney has the last best chance to say i'm actually a nice guy, i actually have your interests in mind. how does dough that? >> the middle one is the most important. but go ahead. >> just thinking maybe his wife has to be able to make that case. others, family members have to make that case that say -- they have to say, look, he is wealthy. he is not exactly like you, but he knows what you're feeling and he knows how to help you. he has done it as a businessman and don't pay attention to what the other side is trying to paint here, that he is putting people out of work, that he is, you know, getting rid of people's retirement. pay attention to what he has done to help businesses, make them stronger, that is what he will do >> how is barack obama ahead in this economy? part is the demography we are talk about a big part, a slice

of voters dissatisfied with obama and mitt romney is convinced he doesn't have his interests at heart. >> ron brownstein will stick with us the next couple of hours. dan, thank you for joining us. off to other things. thank you both. >> thank you. some republicans say paul ryan brings unique skills to a romney presidency this includes catching catfish with his bare hands. my interview with the bow hunter and fisherman, coming up next. [ music playing, children laughing ]

[ slap! slap! slap! ] [ music, laughter stop ] [ male announcer ] when your favorite foods fight you, fight back fast with tums smoothies. so fast and smooth, you'll forget you had heartburn. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums [ male announcer ] tums smoothies. when they taste the food that you cooked, it does something to your heart. i think what people like most about the grilled food is the taste. the flavor comes from that oak wood. the shrimp, the fresh fish, the steaks. it locks in the flavor, it seals in the juices so that when you put the fork in it, it just goes through it like butter. it's beautiful. [ laughs ] i'm proud to be a grill master. i love food. my name is charles himple. i'm a red lobster grill master and i sea food differently. my name is charles himple. this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state.

one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. well hello, welcome to hotels.com. summer road trip, huh? uhuh yep uch let's find you a room. at hotels.com, you'll always find the perfect hotel. because we only do hotels. wow. i like that. nice no. laugh... awe uch ooh, yeah hmm nice huh book it! oh boy call me... this summer, we're finding you the perfect place - plus giving you up to $100 at hotels.com but why doesn't it last? well, plaque quickly starts to grow back. [ dr. rahmany ] introducing crest pro-health clinical rinse. it actually keeps your teeth 91% clean of plaque even at 2 months after a dental visit.

new crest pro-health clinical rinse.

politicians, they are just like you and me, more or less. at "state of the union" we have an online feature called "getting to know." it is our time to find out about the daily details, a quick peek at the person behind the policy. earlier this year, we got to know congressman ryan a bit better. we noted that you are a bow hunter, a skier and a fisherman and we want to focus in on that last part and have you explain to us what noodling is. >> i haven't explained to you but i do find myself explaining to a lot of people.

my wife is from southern oklahoma and down there in southern oklahoma, they've sport where during spawning season for catfish, you go along the river banks, we do this in lake texoma down there on the illinois -- i mean, on the oklahoma/texas border and you put your hand in the hole where the catfish is spawning, they bite down on your hand and they pull the catfish out of the hole. you are basically catching catfisby hand it is really exhilarating, quite fun. we try to get down there during noodling season, end of may, early june to catch catfish and they are delicious. >> so you catch the catfish in your hand and then, what, throw it up on the bank? >> yeah, you have to put it under your arm 'cause they have this side fin that can kind of get you, can sting you. so you have to -- there's a certain technique to grab it and you walk it up into the bank and put it in your boat or your bucket or whatever you have. it is really fun. >> wither going to take his word on that more getting to know with paul ryan in our special 10 a.m. edition of "state of the union."