pretty big issues. ryan voted for t.a.r.p. in 2008. that's the $700 billion bailout program for wall street. he voted for the auto industry bailouts. the same conservatives that romney wants to attract. why would romney still pick ryan despite this? >> paul ryan does have a good track record when it comes to fiscal conservatism. that might be raw meat for the obama campaign because he has been called the man who wants to get rid of medicare. if you look deeper into his plan, it's not that black and white. go back to some of the other votes. he voted along with nancy pelosi and most of the democrats in 2009 to levee a 90% tax on the millions of dollars made by those who did well with the aig scandal. that did not make too many people happy on the conservative side. that's for sure. >> what about his youthful

vigor? he's 42 years old. he has a different personality than mitt romney. that could balance the ticket a little bit. he doesn't have any foreign policy experience. he he's never run a statewide campaign. would he be ready to take over in the case of an emergency? >> that's the million- -- in this campaign, the billion-dollar question. you touched on the chemistry between mitt romney and paul ryan. both candidates have to know they can lean on and count on each other. but first of all, mitt romney will look at someone who he thinks can be a president. can be the leader of the free world, if something were to happen to the president. that's the first criteria. but paul ryan is -- he's in great shape. he's a fitness nut. you know, he has led races and exercise in the house for quite a while. part of this because he knows his father and his grandfather both died in their 50s. so, you know, he wants to stay in as good of shape as he can. >> it's been a bumpy few weeks

for mr. romney. three, new polls showing president obama is actually widening his lead over the republican rival. how much do you think this might help if it is paul ryan? >> that was one of the questions about a move have bold. people were talking about paul ryan or marco rubio or portman from ohio. portman was probably a safer pick. you can look at the latest poll numbers and the pummeling that romney's been taking from the obama campaign in ads recently, to watch his numbers go down, as well as his favorable numbers to go down. and was that enough to push governor romney towards someone a little more bold like paul ryan? we'll see. >> brian monroe, from our website, the editor of cnnpolitics.com. a great website to check out, certainly on a big day like today. thank you very much. with election day three months away, some new polls suggest that mitt romney's

support is slipping while president obama's lead is growing. obama leads romney by seven points. 52% to 45%. more bad news for romney, his unfavorable numbers have gone up six percentage points since last month with registered voters. some of the troubling numbers may have something to do with the negative ad groups supporting the obama campaign. but he is solidifying some support in may. 47% of voters said they were strongly behind him. that's jumped to 56%. you see obama's numbers haven't changed much at all. if mitt romney does, in fact, announce paul ryan as his running mate, will it help his approval rating? that's the big question. our latest cnn poll shows 54% of voters don't have a favorable or unfavorable opinion about ryan, signaling that a majority of americans don't know enough about him. that sentiment is about the same among republicans.

45% said they were unsure about ryan. in fact, if they were to choose, they told us they would prefer to see florida senator marco rubio, on the ticket, ahead of new jersey governor chris christie or paul ryan. paul ryan is likely to be a lightning rod for republicans and democrats as the presidential campaign heats up. our presidential correspondent john king reports. >> reporter: for paul ryan, debating joe biden might feel like a demotion. >> my question is, why not start freezing spending now? and would you support a line-item veto and helping us get a vote in the house? >> let me respond to two specific questions. but i want to push back on the underlying premise of us increasing spending by 84%. >> the discretionary spending, the bills that you sign into law, that has increased 84%. >> we'll have a longer debate on the budget numbers then.

all right? >> ryan is the gop's numbers guy. the house budget committee chairman who isn't afraid to say, in his view, the only way back to fiscal sanity is to shrink government and change medicare. >> if you don't address these issues now, they're going to steamroll us as a country. the more you delay fixing these problems, the much uglier the solutions are going to have to be. >> reporter: in short, he's a lightning rod. and if mitt romney taps ryan to join the ticket, it would be a bold race. >> it's hard to see mitt romney who has played it safe through the campaign, making that kind of gamble. >> reporter: there are upsides. it would energize the gop base, sometimes suspicious of romney. ryan is an energetic debater and campaigner. and at 42, he would add youthful vigor to the ticket. ryan would help romney in wisconsin and across the midwest. >> he does get wisconsin.

but more importantly, he gets the blue-collar conservatism that i think is the heart of the republican party. >> reporter: tapping ryan is a big gamble, because of the house gop budget that bears his name. up until now, romney has done everything to make this campaign a referendum on the incumbent. >> the president's policies are not creating jobs. >> reporter: add ryan to the ticket and there's no escaping this. >> ryan plan to end medicare as we know it must be taken off the table. >> reporter: ryan has never run statewide. he has no foreign policy experience. and some will question whether a 42-year-old house member is ready to be commander in chief. >> one of the stars of the republican future in the next 10 to 20 years. whether he's ready at this moment, only the campaign trail could tell. and he's going to get -- he'll take a real beating. >> reporter: ryan says family history makes him a fitness fanatic, leading colleagues in grueling cross training

workouts. >> my father died at 55. my grandfather, at 57. i have always had an incentive to stay healthy. >> reporter: and an avid hunter. >> i got a terse response saying, i'm sitting in a deer stand. it's hunting season. leave me alone. >> reporter: he's a self-described nerd. but don't underestimate ryan's ambition or his competitive streak. it's clear, if he had his druthers, he'd rather debate the president. >> i love the idea of barack obama. i love the fact that we have elected an african-american man as our president. i think that's a cool thing. >> reporter: it is romney who will share the biggest fall debate stage. >> governor mitt romney. hopefully the next president of the united states of america. >> reporter: and romney, who decides whether to place a risky bet on paul ryan. john king, cnn, washington. of course, be sure to stay with cnn this morning, as mitt

romney unveils his running mate. it happens 9:00 eastern time, live from norfolk, virginia. cnn is there. and will, of course, bring it to you live. he says his goal was to be an economist. but a detour through washington inspired wisconsin native paul ryan to take a different path. still ahead, inside his meteoric political rise. >> if mitt romney asks you to run as his vice president, would you agree to do so? >> next question. you know, that's somebody else's decision months away. that's a conversation i need to have with my wife before i have it with you. [ male announcer ] if you have yet to master the quiet sneeze... ♪ [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour 1 on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour 3.

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welcome back, everyone. i'm randi kaye. we're following breaking news this morning. in a few hours, the last piece of the 2012 presidential campaign will finally be in place. that's when mitt romney will announce his running mite. and sources tell cnn, he is this man. seven-term wisconsin congressman, paul ryan. the announcement is expected around 9:00 eastern this morning in norfolk, virginia. the man who many experts thought romney would tap says he did not get a phone call from mitt romney. former minnesota governor tim pawlenty. had been considered at the top of romney's list for months.

he says he's not going to be in norfolk with romney today. >> i'll give you my schedule in new hampshire tomorrow. i won't be at the announcement. you can deduce from there, i'm keeping my schedule in new hampshire, i can't also be in virginia at the same time. delighted to help his campaign any way i can. i'm going to continue to work hard to help him in any way i can. >> disappointed at all? >> i didn't enter this thinking i was going to be the vice presidential candidate. >> when tim pawlenty was asked if the v.p. pick was going to be congressman paul ryan, he said he couldn't say. but he does know who it is. his wife laughed and told the media, you can stop following us now. while polls show many americans are unfamiliar with ryan, the wisconsin native has seen his party grow since he was first elected in 1998. he spoke about his experience

with cnn chief political analyst, gloria borger. >> you had a meteoric rise in congress. you came here at the age of 28. what's a nice boy doing here? >> i'm a policy person. some would say a nerd. >> my goal in life was to be an economist. and i got involved in public policy, public finance. and i learned at a young age, you can really make a difference in this country. and that's what motivated me to public service. >> how did you learn it? >> how did i learn? >> that you could make that difference? >> through mentors, and working for bill bennett, jack kemp, sam brownback. i learned at an early age, working for policy leaders, if you apply yourself, persevere, you can make a big difference. and pass legislation, which affects people's lives in a positive way. that's the idea of it all.

and i also was very homesick. i'm a big hunter. a big fisherman. i'm a wisconsin guy. so, i moved back home when i was 27. after working out here for about five years. in the thinktanks and on the hill. and looked at running for an open seat for my hometown district. i basically wanted to be an bureau in public policy. and i missed my home. i'm an irish-catholic guy. i have 67 cousins alone. and i miss just home. and so, i basically did a lot of praying, soul-searching and decided to be an entrepreneur in public policy. live at home, running for office. advocating ideas was something i was going to try. >> but 28? >> right. i didn't know it was possible or not. i just decided to go for it. and it ended up working out. >> so, did you call your mentors and say, hey? >> i called a bunch of friends.

you know, mentors like jack kemp, and bill bennett, and said does this pass the laugh test? and bill and others were encouraging for me to do this. and i asked a lot of folks in wisconsin. did a lot of traveling around. i worked at my cousin's earth-moving business, which i grew up working for. and then, on my free time, i went around the district and talked to people. >> some would say you're still moving the earth. >> yeah. in a different way. >> some other news we're following this morning. as the violence in syria intensifies, so, too, do diplomatic talks. secretary of state hillary clinton in turkey, for a key strategy session with leaders there.wh e 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]

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escalates, secretary of state hillary clinton is in turkey to hold talks about the crisis. clinton is expected to strategize with turkish leaders on how to handle the civil war unfolding in area. this comes after the obama administration's slapped syria's oil company with new sanctions. tens of thousands are living in camps like this one along the border. new details in venezuela, about the u.s. man who is being accused as a possible mercenary. the man is a former marine. little is known about the detainee. but chavez issued a statement saying, the man has military training. sources say that the u.s. officials have reached out to the venezuelan government but have not received any information. back here in the u.s., officials say residents living near this massive sinkhole in louisiana, may be unable to

return to their homes for at least another month. the sinkhole has swallowed 100-foot-tall cypress trees. and is still getting bigger. look at this before and after picture of that area. authorities are wondering if an underground salt cavern are to blame. he may be just joining the 2012 campaign today. republican congressman paul ryan has an opinion on what his party and mitt romney need to win the white house. [ female announcer ] the coffee house. the lines, the cost, the hassle. ♪ express yourself [ female announcer ] why not try coffee-mate? with over 25 delicious flavors for a fraction of the cost of the coffee house. add your flavor, with coffee-mate, from nestle. wouldn't it be nice if there was an easier, less-expensive option than using a traditional lawyer? well, legalzoom came up with a better way. we took the best of the old and combined it with modern technology.

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welcome back. breaking news in the political news this morning. it might be a game-changer. sourcing telling cnn, in a few hours, mitt romney will introduce congressman paul ryan as his running mate. the announcement is expected at 9:00 a.m. eastern time. and long before his reported selection, as romney's number

two, ryan seemed to be preparing for the role, sitting the campaign trail with the presidential candidate at events like this one in milwaukee. the wisconsin native is in his seventh term in congress. ryan, who resisted calls for his own presidential run this year, spoke to our chief political correspondent, candy crowley, about the kind of person who could help win the white house. >> usually, the number two on the ticket helps balance out the number one. he hills in the gaps. what kind of number two do you think mitt romney needs? what did he need balancing out for or of? >> whatever he thinks needs to win in the fall. >> what do you think helps him win in the fall? >> i don't know if it's the geography thing. there's a lot of conventional wisdom. what i think matters is, is he putting together the right kind of team to take the right kind of referendum to the country to

offer the choice of two futures? and is he getting somebody that's ready for the job and to help him govern and deliver upon the reforms he's going to introduce this fall. i don't know where they're going to come from. i don't see a point in speculating all that. we have jobs to do. i have a job to do as budget chairman, as a wisconsin representative. i'm focused on that. let's get this primary taken care of. and then, everybody can worry and speculate about the rest of it. >> but let me try one more time on this. would you, for instance, go for someone who is seen as a little more working class? we know when president obama was a candidate and he was selecting a number two, they felt there was a certain kind of -- he seemed a bit removed from people. and they wanted someone who really spoke to blue-collar workers. does mitt romney need that, as well, in a number two? >> i'm not a pundit type. i'm a policy person. i'm focused on doing my job.

it's not my forte to get in that speculation. i'm trying to do my job. my job is the congressman for the first congressional district in wisconsin. that's what i'm focused on. >> let's get to jim acosta. he's joining us over the telephone from norfolk, virginia. jim, let's talk about the polling. they indicate they don't know who paul ryan is. is he a risky bet for romney? >> we're going to find out, randi. one thing we thought was going to happen before the paul ryan name emerged late in the game is he was going to go with a safe pick. rob portman, tim pawlenty. what you saw in the final days leading up to this, is you saw a lot of clamoring among fiscal conservatives, social

conservatives, to make a much bolder choice. and i think that paul ryan is a function of that. you know, whether or not that pressure had anything to do with mitt romney's choice, honestly, i have no idea. what is striking to me about what they've done here with the romney campaign is, they really sort of unleashed the surprise on everybody. caught everybody by surprise. nobody was expecting this to happen on saturday morning, while the olympics were still going on, at the beginning of this bus tour. if anything, everybody was expecting it to happen at the end of the bus tour or after the bus tour. this has caught everybody by surprise. and i think the romney campaign, just from a stagecrafting standpoint, deserves some credit here. >> certainly so. let's talk about paul ryan and who he might appeal to. is it the blue-collar workers that the romney campaign is trying to get? >> i think so. you saw on the most recent

cnn/orc numbers, mitt romney is having trouble connecting with middle-class voters. the president does better among voters to say that the president identifies with them, versus mitt romney. and so, paul ryan, because of his story, is more of an -- up from his boot straps, a young politician, i think will appeal to that. but really, this is a -- this is a -- i don't want to call it a game-changer. but it is certainly laying down the gauntlet to the obama campaign. so far, during this campaign, randi, this campaign has been about who mitt romney is. the obama campaign has gone after bain capital and his experience. and what mitt romney is saying, this isn't about me anymore. this is about the issues. this is about, you know, this is about the republican plan that paul ryan has put forth in the

congress that is quite dramatic. what he could do to the medicare program. what mitt romney has talked about with medicaid. they're drawing up a contrast in the fall. >> the seniors are going to have a field day with this one, if he's trying to end medicare, which is what the democrats will be saying. >> i think it's a curious strategy. if you look at the polling, where mitt romney does well is among senior citizens. the president has never done well among senior citizens, although he did carry florida last time. so, you've got to think that the democrats, that the obama campaign, is going to zero in on seniors and say this is what's going to happen to the medicare program. the republicans will respond to that that these changes to medicare they're talking about won't happen for at least ten years from now. and so, that's not going to affect retiring seniors, people who are already receiving medicare benefits and so forth.

but the attempt is going to be made, make no mistake about it. >> jim acosta for us, on the scene in norfolk, virginia, where the announcement is going to be made at 9:00 a.m. eastern time. all the attack ads criticizing romney may be taking a toll. we're looking at the ads and how they're shaping opinions. i don't want healthy skin for a day. i want healthy skin for life. [ female announcer ] don't just moisturize, improve the health of your skin with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula goes beyond 24-hour moisture. it's clinically proven to improve your skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. for healthy, beautiful skin that lasts. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. also discover daily moisturizing body wash. for healthy skin that starts in the shower. only from aveeno. morning because my back hurt so bad. the sleep number bed conforms to you. i wake up in the morning with no back pain. i can adjust it if i need to...if my back's a little

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35 minutes past the hour. welcome back, everyone. the latest on our breaking news. sources tell cnn, that mitt romney will pick paul ryan of wisconsin as his running mate. the announcement by the presumptive presidential nominee, is expected at 9:00 a.m. eastern, in norfolk, virginia, where romney is kicking off his bus tour through battleground states. when asked about rumors, ryan refused to speculate. good morning, john. i have to ask you about this. you're a contributor to "the daily beast" and "newsweek,"

romney has been vetting the v.p. picks for weeks now. why did they settle on ryan? >> first of all this, is a bold and risky pick for mitt romney. all that conversation, which has apparently been borne out by most of his career, that he is cautious, he is risk-averse, he is constitutionally conservative, do not apply to this pick of paul ryan. this is as close to a game-changer in the post-sarah palin era you're going to get. and a lot of conservatives who have been pushing the paul ryan pick for days now, very intensely, begging mitt romney to make this pick, they're going to be happy today. and what has previously been an almost policy-free campaign by mitt romney, just changed overnight. paul ryan, for better or worse, has had the guts to lay out very specific budget plans. controversial budget plans. budget plans that will come under enormous scrutiny in coming days. but mitt romney has -- is now

wedded to paul ryan's budget plan. that's a great thing, in terms of specificity and policies for a potential future. >> have a plan in place. ryan, he could be a lightning rod for democrats who see him as this driving force behind republican efforts to cut social spending and medicare. one ad showed a man pushing a woman in a wheelchair off a cliff. ryan says the democrats are trying to turn him into a demagogue. what do you think? >> that specific ad showing paul ryan, or someone playing paul ryan, pushing a grandma off the cliff was despicable. it was fear-mongering on the part of the democrats who ran that. but paul ryan will be a lightning rod. there is a clear contrast between the two campaigns now because of the specificity of paul ryan's budget plans. to put this in context. there's a lot of people in washington who like to demagogue the deficit and the debt. but they don't put forward specific plans to deal with it.

and paul ryan is an exception to this general rule. it takes a large degree of political courage. whether you agree with the prescription or not, to put that level of specificity on paper. and i think paul ryan has been rewarded today for that courage. and again, this is a bold pick but a risky pick. those plans will be taken apart. many of the specifics will not be popular with many folks because they do -- you know, call for things that start getting into entitlement reform or voucherizing programs s ts degree that will make some folks uncomfortable. but it shows that mitt romney is serious about dealing with the deficit and the debt. it puts a policy plan in place. and it's an impressive pick by mitt romney. >> romney is framing the race as a referendum on president obama's first term. if he's on the ticket, if this is true, will this help romney, do you think, with voters?

>> i think you're going to see an energized republican base. especially members of what i call the conservatives, the people have have been tepid on romney throughout this process. they're going to be enthused, invigorated. this is a case where a v.p. pick matters. i'm not a person who thinks that v.p. nominees don't matter. they speak to the ticket, to the candidate's vision and the message he's sending out. this is a bold pick that will invigorate the republican base for reasons of policy, not profile. and that, itself, is something to celebrate. paul ryan doesn't bring a state with him. i don't know if the pick of paul ryan will help mitt romney decisively, for example, win paul ryan's native wisconsin. but the republican base will be energized by this pick for reasons of policy. and that, frankly, is refreshing. >> john avlon, as always, thank you for your insight. thanks for calling in this

morning. appreciate it. >> thank you. be sure to stay with cnn this morning, as romney unveils his running mate. it happens at 9:00 eastern time from norfolk, virginia. cnn will bring it to you live. with election day three months away, new polls suggest that romney's support is slipping while president obama's is growing. you see it there. that's according to a new cnn/orc poll. if mitt romney does announce paul ryan as his running mate this morning, will it help his approval rating? our poll shows 54% of voters don't have a favorable or unfavorable opinion about ryan. signaling that a majority of americans don't know enough about him. that is the same among republicans, saying they were unsure about ryan. if they were to choose, they told us they would prefer to see marco rubio on the ticket ahead of chris christie or paul ryan.

as i mentioned, the polls suggest things aren't going so great for mitt romney. president obama has expanded his league. and an abc news/"washington post" survey says, romney's, quote, laboring under the lowest personal popularity ratings in midsummer election year polls back to 1984. dana bash reports on romney's slipping numbers and if a v.p. pick is enough to turn things around. ♪ oh, beautiful >> reporter: if you turned on your television last month, there's a good chance you saw this brutal attack ad against mitt romney. ♪ above the fruited plains >> reporter: it ron 12,402 times in the last half of july. it's the crown jewel of the obama campaign's summer strategy to define mitt romney as an out-of-touch wealthy businessman with something to side, since he won't release most of his tax

returns. >> let him prove he has paid taxes. >> reporter: all that, plus self-inflicted wounds. like questioning great britain's readiness for the olympics, add up for a tough month for romney. a new cnn/orc poll shows romney's unfavorable rating climbed six points over the last month with registered voters. and skyrocketed 12 points among those critical independent voters. and president obama opened up a seven-point lead over romney. one month ago, it was just three points. a statistical dead-heat. privately, frustrated senior republicans continue to complain to cnn that the romney camp can't find its footing in an economic environment that should be devastating for the president. now, team romney is trying to get back on offense. launching a bus tour on the president's turf. virginia, north carolina, florida, ohio. all states the president won in 2008, up for grabs now.

>> it's good to be with you guys. >> reporter: the romney camp is trying to course correct, not just with where the candidate goes, but what he says. it's a two-pronged approach. streamline his economic message. and reclaim the idea of romney the businessman as a positive, not a negative. >> i know what it's like to hire people and wonder if you're going to make ends meet down the road. >> reporter: and try to shred the president's calling card. his credibility and -- like this ad that blamed romney for a woman's death. it was an ad found to be inaccurate. >> what does it say about his character, when the campaign tries to use a tragedy of a woman's death for political gain? doesn't america deserve better? >> reporter: the romney campaign is really hoping that the narrative will change with their v.p. pick and the gop convention in tampa. romney officials say they expect

to get a significant bounce from both. if romney gets a bounce in the polls it would defy recent history. in the past two election cycles, neither party's nominee went up in the polls more than 2% after the conventions. dana bash, cnnc, washington. the controversial plan to put ryan in the spotlight. why the republican congressman says he is not afraid. this is the first leg of our world challenge with the cadillac ats. this is actually starting to feel real now. [ ross ] this is the perfect place to test the ats's advanced aerodynamics. [ derek ] we've got crosswinds, tailwinds, headwinds. aerodynamics is all about keeping the car planted on the road. you are going to get hit by stuff, so don't freak out. [ screaming with excitement ] and move out now. ♪ [ male announcer ] the all-new cadillac ats. ♪ [ female announcer ] the gold standard in anti-aging. roc® retinol. found in roc® retinol correxion deep wrinkle night cream.

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48 minutes past the hour. welcome back. now, to our big story. sources tell cnn that mitt romney will unveil wisconsin congressman paul ryan as his running mate. the 42-year-old is a rising political star, thanks in part to a budget proposal that took a tough stand on entitlements. it made him a hero to many republicans and a lightning rod for democrats. as ryan told our gloria borger, he is ready for the backlash. >> there is a certain fearlessness to you. >> i gave fear up for lent this

year. >> i'll bet you did. >> i did. people give up yogurt. >> you're not joking. >> no. i gave up fear for lent this year. >> you're not kidding me, right? >> no. how do you do that? >> well, i'm working on it. to me, there's a big test for this country. and whether we apply our country's principles, liberty, freedom, free enterprise. all these principles are being tested right now. if we apply those principles to the problems we have today, we will fix our country. we will have upward mobility with a safety net to catch ourselves, which i think is really important. and we are being tested. and there are those who philosophically disagree with this. and that favor the president's

path. and you can't have fear if you try to fix these problems using -- to me, you know, this -- there's a shoot the messenger strategy these days. >> you're the messenger. >> i'm the messenger. and you can't fear that. if you are who you are and you believe what you believe and want to see the country through the problems today. >> let's talk about your views that have become controversial. and you are the messenger for these views. and correct me if i'm wrong. you want to change the way the medicare system works. you want to rise the retirement age for social security in 70. >> the year 2103. >> right. gradually. and you want to have the wealthy pay more for their benefits. >> right. >> that's not only touching the third rail of politics. >> i used to say a kwaul la bear

on the third rail. if you don't address these issues now, they're going to steam roll the country. and the more you delay fixing these problems, the tougher they're going to be. we go into the hole every year we delay fixing the problem. with medicare, for example, the way i look at it is, if people retired living on the program, don't change it. if they're about to retire, leave it alone. but in order to cash flow that, borrow money -- 51% of medicare is funded with borrowed money. if we're going to keep that promise, you have to change it for our generation. >> his stance on benefit has drawn a lot of criticism from democrats. some call him the poster child for slashing entitlements. see what he says about that.un r] how do you define your moment? the blissful pause just before that rich sweetness touches your lips.

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welcome back, everyone. we are live one hour early this saturday morning with breaking news. sources tell cnn that mitt romney will announce that rising

gop star congressman paul ryan will be his running mate. the much-anticipated announcement is expected at 9:00 a.m. eastern in norfolk, virginia. that's where the presidential candidate is kicking off a four-day bus tour through four mid battleground states. and romney will announce ryan is his v.p. choice among the "uss wisconsin." and look at this. the ryan/romney website page is up this morning. the websites for other v.p. contend contenders, like marco rubio, have gone nowhere. democrats have attacked the so-called ryan plan. they made him a poster child for a republican determined to cut entitlements like medicare. but he is not backing down from his beliefs. >> well, let's say the ryan plan, even though you don't like to call it that, have become the centerpiece -- the ryan plan has become the centerpiece of the

discussion. >> that's right. >> in the -- not only in the congressional debate. but also in the presidential debate. you once told a reporter, i'm going to quote the this back at you. i don't expect it to become the platform of the party. but it kind of looks like it is. >> i never had those ambitions. i tried to move the debate forward, so we can attack these problems before they attack us. the way the math works, and the budget, and the debt and the deficit, we'll start losing control of the situation. interest alone will get us. by 2025, medicare, medicaid, social security and interest consume 100% of all federal revenues. that shows how fast this is getting out of control. and so, it is becoming the issue. what we're trying to do is simply give the country a choice. show them an option. and literally put a plan on the table to fix the problem. >> the democrats, obviously, have a different view of it. >> of course. >> and you've become the poster

child, whether you like it or not. and one democrat said to me, if they didn't have you, they'd have to invent you. >> that's right. that's right. the way i look at this is, i think from the left perspective, they would like to nullify the notion that there's an alternative path for the country than the one they have laid down over the last two years. >> not just the left. there are moderates who disagree with you because you don't have taxes. >> we do have taxes. we reform the code. we get rid of the loopholes to lower the rates. nobody wants to get rid of crony capitalism and loopholes more than -- we're not the first to propose it. we want to do it to make our tax system more competitive for entrepreneurs to succeed in the international economy. but i would simply say -- >> but -- >> there's a plan here, or the preference to delegitimize an alternative path for the country than we're on right now.

and i would argue, the path we're on right now, is a debt crisis. it is moving us toward more of a cradle-to-grave welfare state, where able-bodied people are not allowed to have equal opportunity to rise up and become more self-you know, independent. i worry that we're creating so much government spending and debt that it will slow down our economy and produce more people who are dependent upon the government than they are upon themselves. that's dangerous for society. good morning, everyone. from the cnn center, i'm randy kay. it's 6:00 randy kaye. 6:00 on the east coast. 3:00 a.m. out west and 5:ooa.m. in wisconsin. sources tell us that mitt romney is picking paul ryan. the chair of the house budget

committee has been sharply critical of president obama's economic policies and outspoken fiscal conservative. take a look at this. the romney/ryan website is up and running. he's expected to make the announcement in norfolk, virginia. ryan monroe is the editor of cnnpolitics.com. he's joining us from our washington bureau. sources telling cnn that it will be paul ryan. what do you think? what do you think he brings to the ticket? >> this is either going to be his boldest move or probably his riskiest mistake. paul ryan is a galvanizing force. for conservative republicans, he's seen as the voice behind conservatism. he is the voice that wants to get rid of medicare.

if either of those are truthful, it will be a lightning rod in this campaign. >> why make the announcement today, saturday morning, olympics going on, he's about to kick off his bus tour. a lot thought he would do this later on. >> a saturday announcement get us sunday morning air time on the sunday morning talk show, sunday newspapers, and gets you a nice really good ramp up for a full week of coverage in the media. >> what do you think is going on in the obama white house. how do you think they're reacting to this? >> you have to imagine they've laid out their battle plans for a romney-ryan ticket. they know where to attack ryan on his budget plan. they know they can look back and see which votes he and ryan differ on. paul ryan voted for t.a.r.p., he voted for a tax on the