medicare becing a voucher-type program for the statete's. spending on non--defee shnkinquite drastically. we do n not see that unde the obama plan which raises taxes on people making more than $250,0000 a year. those lin become so much more clearer than before for voters at a time wheindepependent voters are few and far between. >> a stark choice and plays bh into their hands. inresting to watatch in the last few d days, mitt romney talking about obama's campaign. obama in turn has made references to mitt romney ststrapping the dog on the roof of the car. they are going bk to really partisan politics. i do not know how much sharply these attacks canet. >> when paul ryan was made the vice presidential nominee for the republican party, ththere was a lot ofof talk about ok this is one we are going to get down to substance and issues. >> when you are throwing mud sometimes there are a lot of rich minerals in it. it does not mean it is going to stop b being thrown, but it is thicker. >> this week andnd met mitt romney with his whi board wanting t

medicare is just a total lie. what he wants to do is straightep it out. he wanthe wants to ceive it bece it's going to go bankrupt if he don't save it. let's have a debate about it. and i think the president wants to save medicare. they have two different ways of doing it. let's have a debate about that. that's far better than their calling us names and our calling them names. i hope it's the right decision. my instinks tell me it is. i think it's a good decision for the campaign, and i think whoever gets elected, if we can get it down to the merthe is is at least going to have a mandate to do something. >> schieffer: senator durbin? >> i can just tell you we are anxious to make medicare the issue if that's what mitt romney and paul ryan want to speak to. we know the record. paul ryan initiated the debate to privatize social security, and when the stock market craterduring the recession, he stopped talk about it. then he started the effort to privatize medicare with his voucher system under his budget approach. now, that might work for a senior who is healthy and wealthy. but if you're n