this event is taking place in norfolk, virginia. i don't know if you got the 2008 virginia numbers up there. but president obama carried virginia. he wants to carry it desperately this time as well. he needs to do well not only in northern virginia but southern virginia, around norfolk he has to do well there if he has a chance. >> he did well in that area. barack obama carried it well. african-american population he won that quite well. norfolk city, go out to the virginia beach area. john mccain won it. if you go to the map. virginia is absolutely critical. i want to make this go away to see it. republicans look at the map and say this is how mitt romney has to win. they call it the 3-2-1 strategy. they have to win the three republican states carried by president obama in 2008. virginia, north carolina and indiana. given the history in the last 100 years or so. three first then two. florida and ohio. if mitt romney can win those five, then he needs one more. now you're making the bet, paul ryan can help them not only in wisconsin

talk about what we expect to see there in norfolk? >> alex, i mean with paul ryan, you're certainly going to get some differences which is a generational difference. you talk about father/son appearance. that may open up eyes and make a brotder appeal among younger folks. there was a lot of talks among rpz do you want to go with somebody like marco rubio who maybe more appealed to hispanic voters and showed a different republican party. in the end they wanted someone who spoke again to the budget like we've been talking about. i think you're going to see sort of a national debut for paul ryan for -- we just showed a poll about how people don't know who he is. this is a chance for for them to put him there with mitt romney and relaunch the entire romney campaign. >> interesting you bring that up. i'll discuss this with you ladies. you talk about the fact they don't know him so well and talk about marco rubio, a hot topic at the beginning. his name faded away as if the lessons learned from the last go-around and having somebody relative

take alook at th these ee pies from norfolk, virg. the "uss wisconsin" battleship in the background. it's the back drop for mitt romney making his dramatic announcement that paul ryan, the chairman of the house budget committee will in fact be his vice presidential running mate. our own cnn contributor is here, he wrote a fascinating piece about paul ryan not that long ago, just the other day. what made i decide to write that article? did you think that mitt romney was going pick paul ryan as his running mate? >> no. i mean, i knew he was on the short list. he was obvious up and coming republican, you did a piece about him a year ago. he's i have important republican in washington. the whole theory was, this is a guy who arguably had ideal logical influence than anyone else. the question from romney, is he going to run away from it or embrace it? obviously he's going to embrace it. >> we want to see some pictures, tell us, you spent quality time in jamesville, wisconsin. this is his, the prom king. he was elected class president, the

thank you, norfolk. today we take another step forward in helping restore the promise of america as we move forward in this campaign and on to lead the nation to better days it's an honor to announce my running mate and next vice president of the united states, paul ryan. [ cheers and applause ] his leadership begins with character and values. paul is a man of tremendous character, shaped in large part by his early life. paul's father died when he was in high school. that forced him to grow up earlier than any young man should, but paul did, with the help of his devoted mother, his brothers and sister, and a supportive community. and as he did, he internalized the virtues and hardworking ethic of the midwest. paul ryan works in washington, but his beliefs remain firmly rooted in janesville, wisconsin. he's a person of great steadiness whose integrity is unquestioned and his word is good. paul's upbringing is obvious in how he's conducted hisself throughout his life, including his leadership in washington

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

the military city of norfolk, aboard the uss wisconsin. event kickoff his campaign bus tour with his new running mate, a little more than three weeks before the republican national convention. we have complete coverage leading up to this dramatic announcement. candy crowley is here, gloria borger is here, john king is here, jim acosta is in nor folk. brianna keiler is at the white house. john let me start with you, a lot of us taken by surprise about this bold decision. a lot of us thought it would be somebody less controversial. tim pawlenty or rob portman the ohio senator. he decided to go bold. >> he decided to go bold. number one you have to give him credit not endorsing his pick, but somebody that will overshadow him. he's at the center of the debate about the budget. it's risky. he's 42 years old. he's a house member. some say is he ready to be commander in chief. we've watched a shift toward the president in days. part of this decision, we're loosing the debate over bain. let go big and make it an ideas debate. that's risky. paul ry

the announcement will be made in norfolk, virginia. we have carl cameron on the phone breaking this news for us this evening. he's in boston. carl, are you there? >> i am. yes. we're in boston but rapidly heading to norfolk, virginia for unveiling of mitt romney's running mate, it will be revealed to the country. two weeks and three days in advance of the republican national convention in tampa. earlier pick than is tradition nchl most cases going back to the early 1980s, most vice presidential nominees picked within four days of the convention and a couple cases picked at the convention, mitt romney by making this selection tomorrow will be early and giving him an opportunity to get across the country. all indications, tremendous amount of buzz spinning around republican circles indicating paul ryan from wisconsin will be the nominee. mr. romney and the congressman have illustrated a tremendous amount of chemistry on the campaign stage together. ryan is well known, the house passed budget with its dramatic spending reduction atestimon

they will go -- norfolk. it they will go aboard the uss wisconsin to make an announcement on paul ryan as the vp candidate. fox news radio speculated that there could be iran re--paul ryan ticket, and he gives -- a mitt romney-paul ryan ticket, and he gives the pros and cons. it's as the upside of a paul ryan selection means the fiscal and economic issues have bedeviled washington for more than four years with every conversation around spending, the government shut down, the debt ceiling, the explosion of entitlements, and now the pending sequestered. there is no figure that has been so central to all of these issues as paul ryan. in terms of what democrats are looking for, democrats will fall all over themselves to make the ryan budget the marquee issue. they believe that their narrative is republicans are tellus and a loose to the nation's problems. this could significantly bolster the democrats is -- democrats chance of holding the senate and taking the house. these are some of the views expressed about wh

thank you norfolk. today we take another step forward in helping restore the promise of america as we move forward in this campaign and on to help lead the nation to better days. it's an honor to announce my running mate and the next vice president of the united states, paul ryan. (cheers and applause) >> his leadership begins with character and values. paul is a man of tremendous character shaped in large part by his early life. paul's father died when he was in high school. that forced him to grow up earlier than any man should. but paul did with the help of his devoted mother, his brothers and sister and a supportive community. as he did he internalized the virtues and hard-working effort of the midwest. paul ryan works in washington but his beliefs remain firmly rootd in janesville, wisconsin. he is a person of great steadiness whose integrity is unquestioned and who's woord is good. in a city that is far too often characterized by at the time teeness and personal attacks paul ryan is a shining exce

thank you, norfolk. today we take another step forward in helping restore the promise of america. as we move forward in this campaign and on to help lead the nation to better days, it is an honor to announce my running mate in the next vice president of the night states, paul ryan. -- and the next vice president of the united states, paul ryan. [applause] his leadership begins with character and values. paul is a man of tremendous character, shaped in large part by his early life. his father died when he was in high school. that forced him to grow up earlier than a young man should. but paul did with the help of his devoted mother, his brothers and sister and his support of community. as he did, he internalized the virtues and hard-working ethics of the midwest. paul ryan works in washington but his belize remain firmly rooted in janesville, wisconsin. -- but his roots remain firmly planted in janesville, wisconsin. his word is good. his upbringing is obvious in how he has conducted himself. including his leadership in washington. in a city that is far too often characterized by p

we are now told by the campaign that announcement will come tomorrow in norfolk, virginia. that's the beginning of the bus where he is taking through the key swing states. romney needs to carry it this year. he is trying to get enough interest and make a statement about what kind of a partner he wants in the white house and could be making a statement about which issues he wants to move front and center as we go to the final stretch of the campaign. the economy is "issue #1." who might be picked? we have been told the short list includes paul ryan, a private plane left from boston to wisconsin. a hint or a bluff? we don't know. he say polarizing figure. most americans don't know, but paul ryan has been front and center in the big debates with the cut in federal spending whether you mead to move more quickly. the international viewers watched europe through the debt crisis and the u.s. is having a similar debate. a controversial plan to rewrite the rules of the entitlement program. social security and retirement for seniors and american medicare and the health care program f

again, peter traveling with mitt romney in norfolk, virginia. again, breaking news out of the msnbc newsroom. wanted to go ahead and just recap one more time that mitt romney will be announcing his choice for a vice presidential running mate tomorrow in norfolk, virginia. previously, the campaign said that it would use this app to announce his choice. and speculation has been swirling about potential choices. they've really run the gamut from rob portman to tim pawlenty, marco rubio, bobby jindal. but right now all eyes seem to be on paul ryan. all of these names really generating vice presidential buzz. so, once again, mitt romney will be making that announcement 9:00 a.m. of course, msnbc will have live coverage. i'm veronica de la cruz in the msnbc newsroom. stay tuned. we will have more coverage in a moment. >> i went back it to my buddy's house and said, i did something bad. the next day i went to school, trying to make everything normal again. but in reality, it wasn't normal. i took somebody's life. somebody's son, somebody's brother. you

they start in norfolk tomorrow and move up to ashland, virginia. late this afternoon, the romney campaign added a rally at randolph macon in ashland. and they come up to manassas and are having a rally at 4:10 in the afternoon alongside the train tracks there. and all the rallies and less rules were changed for that. they were show up with your press credentials and now they are requiring the media to be in place early. so signals ahead of time something big was on the horizon. >> julie carey reporting to us. we'll have more on this in our broadcast tomorrow. >>> now to a developing story out of california. one person is dead after a plane crashed in the middle of the neighborhood there. the victim was pulled from the cessna a few hours ago. the pilot declared an emergency shortly after takeoff from the santa mon santa monica airport. >>> a minor crash on the runway at dulles airport. the wing of a lufthansa jet clipped the tail of another plane. all of the passengers were put on other flights. >>> a playground in a small community in virginia has

thank you, virginia, thank you, norfolk. today we take another step forward in helping restore the promise of america, as we move forward in this campaign and on to help lead the nation to better days, it's an honor to announce my running mate and the next vice president of the unite, paul ryan. . . his leadership, his leadership begins with character and values. paul is a man of tremendous character shaped in large part by his early life. paul's father died when he was in high school. that forced him to grow up earlier than any young man should. but paul did, with the help of his devoted mother, his brothers and sister and a supportive community, and as he did, he internalized the virtues and hard working ethic of the midwest. paul ryan works in washington but his beliefs remain firmly rooted in jamesville, wisconsin. he's a person of great steadiness whose integrity is unquestioned and whose word is good. paul's upbringing the obvious in how he's conducted himself throughout his life including his leadership in washington

ryan is home and planning to travel to norfolk? >> we haven't seen movement in the house from just before midnight local time. we do believe the congressman and his family still in the house. i've been here all day yesterday and haven't seen the congressman at all since yesterday afternoon when he got home from the memorial service from the victims of the oak creek shooting that happened in his district. the congressman was supposed to go on vacation leaving for colorado for a week with his family but obviously that seems like that will be canceled as we do expect him to head to virginia to be with governor romney for the event this morning. >> it's always interesting something like this. if he is indeed home, you have to wonder if they are sitting in a dark room listening to you talk about where he may or may not be. alex, you've been following his movements. what this they been like the last week or so? >> reporter: well, congressman ryan has been here in wisconsin all week. he did a couple of close fundraisers for local candidat

thank you, virginia, thank you, norfolk. [applause] today we take another step forward in helping restore the promise of america as we move forward in this campaign and to help lead the nation to better days. it is an honor to announce my running mate and the next vice- president of the united states, paul ryan. [cheers and applause] [applause] his leadership begins with character and values. paul is a man of tremendous character shaped in large part by his early life. his father died when he was in high school and that forced him to grow up earlier than any young man should. he did with the help of his devoted mother, his brothers and sisters, and a support of community. as he did, he internalize the virtues and hard working ethics of the midwest. paul ryan works in washington but his beliefs remain firmly rooted in janesville, wisconsin. [applause] he is a person of great steadiness whose integrity is unquestioned and whose. work is whose his upbringing is obvious and how he conducted himself throughout his life including

jim, the "uss wisconsin" is in norfo norfolk, the largest naval facility in the world. tell us what you can expect in two hours. >> i think what you expect is romney campaign pulling out the big guns and i'm not just talking about the "uss wisconsin." we're talking about paul ryan, we haven't seen signs yet, wolf. i should mention. i've been on the event site. we've not seen paul ryan signs at the event site at this point. i'm standing in line to go through security to get into this event site. i don't know if you want to call it a glitch, but 7:00 a.m. when most major television networks want to be on the air reporting this news, all of the networks are honie phoning in, we're phoning in this report as opposed to being live on the air, showing that battleship behind us, showing that impressive back drop behind us, we're all sort of standing in line getting ready to go inside this site. it shows the last-minute nature what the romney campaign has done by alerting everybody late last night. putting out this press release very late last night. this is a herculean effort p

in norfolk, virginia. our coveragehere. our coverage will continue. >>> breaking news at this hour, sources tell nbc news that mitt romney will announce wisconsin congressman paul ryan as his running mate in a campaign event 9:00 eastern time today. good morning, everyone, welcome to the special edition of "weekends with alex witt." the announcement is expected three hours from now when mitt romney will hold an event at the uss wisconsin. a seven-term member of congress, paul ryan is the chairman of the house budget committee and senior member of the ways and means committee. joining me right now, nbc news campaign, garrett haake. how did all of this come up last night? >> good morning, alex. the actual news announcement came out 11:15. the campaign sent out a blast e-mail. it will be not be a traditional campaign stop. his reporters and staff members were getting ready to go to bed. folks were caught off guard and everyone went into gear. nbc news tracked down a handful of sources who were able to confirm the announcement.

thank you, virginia, thank you norfolk. today we take another step forward in helping restore the promise of america as we move forward in this campaign and on to help lead the nation to better days, it's an honor to announce my running mate and the next vice president of the united states, paul ryan. [ cheers and applause ] his leadership -- his leadership begins with character and values. paul is a man of tremendous character, shaped in large part by his early life. paul's father died when he was in high school. that forced him to grow up earlier than any young man should, but paul did with the help of his devoted mother, his brothers and sister and a supportive community. and as he did, he internalized the virtues and hard working ethic of the midwest. paul ryan works in washington but his beliefs remain firmly rooted in janesville, wisconsin. he's a person of great steadiness, whose integrity is unquestioned and whose word is good. paul's upbringing is obvious in how he's conducted himself throughout his life, including

in norfolk. so we go virginia, north carolina, and then after that, take me to the next two states, peter. >> after that on monday we go to florida and then ohio and a lot of the conversation has been focused on that day, tuesday, the final day of the bus tour but the early speculation is that the choice was going to be rob portman. the thought was that when romney arrived in ohio, that that would be a place to make the announcement. and when a new ad by priorities usa super pac that is run, by moung other people, bill burton who is no longer with the obama campaign but worked closely with the president in the past they were trying to set the tone, saying while the president has been negative, there's would be a positive campaign. romney himself said it would be focused on substantive issues and focused on a vision for the future and that's what they are trying to accomplish over the next several days. >> peter, i'm going to guess here at this. while the official bus trip says virginia, north car

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 o

the military city of norfolk, aboard the uss wisconsin. event kickoff his campaign bus tour with his new running mate, a little more than three weeks before the republican national convention. we have complete coverage leading up to this dramatic announcement. candy crowley is here, gloria borger is here, john king is here, jim acosta is in nor folk. brianna keiler is at the white house. john let me start with you, a lot of us taken by surprise about this bold decision. a lot of us thought it would be somebody less controversial. tim pawlenty or rob portman the ohio senator. he decided to go bold. >> he decided to go bold. number one you have to give him credit not endorsing his pick, but somebody that will overshadow him. he's at the center of the debate about the budget. it's risky. he's 42 years old. he's a house member. some say is he ready to be commander in chief. we've watched a shift toward the president in days. part of this decision, we're loosing the debate over bain. let go big and make it an ideas debate. that's risky. paul ry

after joining the ticket in norfolk, ryan told the crowd america is a nation facing debt, doubt, and despair and a transformative change in leadership is now vital. we caught up with the white house hopefuls on their bus stop in month naz. >> reporter: today's tour through virginia is very important to the romney campaign for two reasons. voters are getting their first glimpse of romney, alongside his newly announced vp candidate. even the republican party knows if they want to pull ahead in this election, they have to win virginia, a state that's still narrowly favoring president obama, according to a recent poll. scores of people packed into the harris pavillion in oldtown on saturday to show their support for the romney-ryan ticket. the pair spent the day touring the commonwealth and made a big showing here in northern virginia. >> if we do this right and we reapply those principles that built this country, we honor you by letting you decide the choice and the course of this country. we will get our country back on november 6th! [ cheers & applause ] >> it was also a good day for

romney announced that he would reveal his pick for vp at 9:00 this morning in norfolk, virginia, his first stop on a four-day bus tour. the running mate announcement will be made at the nauticus museum which is home to the "uss wisconsin" another hint that romney will pick ryan. the 42-year-old house republican is serving his seventh term in congress. he has a strong fiscal background and serves as the chairman of the house budget committee. in that role, he offered a budget plan in 2011 called the path to prosperity aimed at significantly put k lly cutting deficit. it changes the medicare system to a voucher system. >> this could make the ryan plan a centerpiece and it's had mixed results. there were a couple of special elections in house races where the medicare plan, ryan's plan, was the reason that republicans lost the seat. with ryan as a pick, there's a sense of enthusiasm in the base of the party. you have a young leading figure in the party. that was lacking as well. for mitt romney, this is risk. and it's risk that he probably needed to exert. >> republican strategists say r

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mitt romney introduces paul ryan as his vice presidential running mate in norfolk today. the chairman of the house budget committee, ryan has put forward budget plans that would remake medicare. they are now on a bus tour of battleground states, starting in virginia. we have team coverage to you. >> reporter: you know bruce, this was a very important stop for the romney campaign, because for the first time, folks are starting to get to see him and his choice for vice president together. also, according to recent numbers, romney is still trailing president obama by four points here in the commonwealth of virginia. earlier today during this rally, both mitt romney and his newly announced running mate paul ryan took the stage in manassas in front of thousands of supporters who came out to get a glimpse of the two together. the commonwealth of virginia has become a battleground. a group, according to recent polls has narrowly split. the big show today was paul ryan himself. the chairman of the house budget committee is regarded as a staunch republican whoa has been widely cri

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norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. >> additional corporate funding is provided by boeing, and american queen steamboat company, proud to support "washington week" on pbs. additional funding is provided by the annenberg foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again, live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. to tell you the truth, i was out of town for most of the week. from a zabs, everything i saw and read about the presidential campaign seemed incredibly small. the senate majority leader continued to accuse the republican nominee of not paying taxes. he felt no need to offer proof, th the ads began. this one for obama allies seemed to link mitt romney to a woman's death from cancer. >> i don't think he realizes that people's lives completely changed. when mitt romney and bane closed the plarningts i lost my health care and my family lost their health care and a short time

for the latest we're joined by abc senior political correspondent jonathan karl from norfolk, virginia, where he's traveling with the romney campaign. jon, how much of a surprise is this? >> reporter: well, to those who really know romney it's not that much of a surprise. he has been fascinated with this young, conservative superstar for a long time. but he's only 42 years old, he's incredibly controversial, and to many republican operatives it is seen as a risky choice. but this is something, cynthia, that is going to excite the republican base. he is one of the top stars in the party, somebody who is putting the fiscal health of the country at the top of his priority list, ahead of politics. but that plan you mentioned is one that would drastically change medicare and you can bet democrats are going to come right at him. >> when it came down to it, why ryan? >> reporter: well, ryan is seen as the guy with the plan. romney campaigned with ryan in wisconsin. he was the only of the potential vice presidential candidates that when he appeared with ryan, the two actually got on the stage

norfolk southern, one line, infinite possibilities. >> we know why we're here, to chart a greern path in the air and in our factories. >> to find cleaner more efficient ways to power flight. and harness our technology for new energy solutions. >> around the globe, the people of boeing are working together to build a better tomorrow. >> that's why we're here. >> additional corporate funding is provided by prudential financial and american queen steamboat company, proud to support "washington week on pbs. additional funding is brought to you by the annenburg foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again, live from washington moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening, paul ryan's elevation to the national republican ticket represented a shift in strategy as profound as we have seen all election years. there's a referendum that american voters want to give president obama a second term. and there's the choice, who's vision is the most in sync with where americans want to go. this is how president ob

he made the announcement this morning in norfolk, virginia, the kickoff to a swing state bus tour. jan crawford is on the campaign trail in manassas, virginia, tonight. jan. >> reporter: anthony, paul ryan was a favorite of some conservatives who were urging romney to go bold, but still his announcement today came as something of a surprise. but as you can see from the crowds behind me, it instantly reset this presidential race. in norfolk, ryan stepped off the retired battle ship uss "wisconsin" and on to the national stage enjiegz the conservative base and injecting substantive issues into the campaign. >> a lot of people in the other party might disagree with paul ryan. i don't know of anyone who doesn't respect his character and judgment. >> reporter: as chairman of the house budget committee, the stef-term congressman from southern wisconsin has hammered a message of fiscal responsibility. ryan has proposed revamping medicare before it becomes insolvent, cutting trillions of dlars in discretionary spending. >> we are on an unsustainable path that is robbing america of our free

. >> it will be announced at 9:00 in norfolk. sources are saying it will be wisconsin congressman, paul ryan. >> mitt romney off of the trail today in boston. he's choosing a running mate with his campaign in a slump. three new polls show romney trailing president obama by seven points or more. romney's put up an ad about welfare and about religion. he took an overseas trip that was marred by gaps. conservatives are demanding romney prove he's focused on the economy. >> is he going to respond in a 2007, 2008 mitt romney style that you cave to the right? or is he going to be tougher and firmer? >> the big test is the vp choice. the wall "wall street journal" s pushing paul ryan for his tax reform and spending restraint. romney echoed that. >> i don't think i have anything for you other than i certainly expect to have a person that has strength of character, vision for the country. >> the vision is shrinking medicare to cut the deficit. he's to the right of romney. which, if history is a guide, also makes ryan a likely republican r

wisconsin in norfolk, virginia. during the introduction he mistakenly introduced him as the next president of the united states and then corrected himself. >> every now and then known to make a mistake. [ laughter ] >> i did not make a mistake with this guy. he is going to be the next vice president of the united states. [ applause ] >> i am deeply honored and excited to join you as your running mate. >> one note on romney's misstep, president obama did the same thing four years ago introducing joe biden as his running mate. he is best known for slashing spending a and cuts over medicare and social security. >> president obama is talking about the weather. his weekly address focuses on record heat and drought that plagues much of the nation this summer. this july was hottest months since records were kept. midwest farmers are struggling to feed their animals. president has directed the department of agriculture to do everything it can to head off a food shortage disaster. >> we've given farmers and small businesses

it is-- it's great to be back in virginia and here in norfolk. your city's beauty is matched only by its proud heritage as a defender of freedom. thank you, virginia. thank you, norfolk. ( cheers and applause ) today w we take another step forward in helping restore the promise of america. as we move forward in this campaign and on to help lead the nation to better days, it's an honor to announce my running mate and the next vice president of the united states, paul ryan. ( cheers and applause ). his leadership-- his leadership begins with character and values. paul is a man of tremendous character, shaped in large part by his early life. paul's father died when he was in high school. that forced him to grow up earlier than any young man should. but paul did with the help of his devoted mother, his brothers and sister, and a supportive community. and as he did, he internalized the virtues and hardworking ethic of the midwest. paul ryan works in washington, but his beliefs remain firmly rooted in janesville, wisconsin. ( cheers and applause ). he'

norfolk, virginia. two white people in a car at a light stopped. okay? people throw stuff at their car. guy gets out. he is beset upon by a bunch of young men. woman gets out, she is beaten up by the young men. the witnesses say there were 100 of them. a crowd of 100, all right? we don't know how many men participated in the beatings of the two. norfolk police have not been able to solve this case and have not released the 911 tape. where is it now? >> that's the problem. how you cannot do this investigation when you have that many witnesses. this wasn't even. >> bill: 100. >> 100 witnesses and they are not able to solve this case. >> bill: they can't solve the case. sorry there is insufficient evidence. they labeled as it a simple assault. there is a a occurred here with throwing a projectile missile at a vehicle. >> bill: mob action too they are charged with. right now there are two people charged and they dropped charges against another two. >> two juveniles we don't note identities because it's in the juvenile and domestic court. it's sad. where is t

a lot of republicans yesterday as the optics of this, the introduction in norfolk, virginia. paul ryan seemed to get looser as the day went on, north carolina today, wisconsin tonight and paul ryan will break off, see him solo tomorrow. they know there will be huge debates about federal spending priorities, the about ryan budget which would trim the medicare spending. we'll see if this man is up to the challenge and what the republican ticket believes already they've changed the tone and tenor of the debate to make it about bigger issues. this will be about bigger issues now. >> one thing we know for sure is that paul ryan got the attention of barack obama today. the president mentioned him by name at a fund-raiser. so he's clearly aware and i think he's looking forward to talking about paul ryan a bit. take a listen to this. >> yesterday morning my opponent chose his running mate, the ideological leader of the republicans in congress, mr. paul ryan. i want to congratulate -- no, no, no. i want to congratulate congressman ryan. i know him. i welcome him to the race. congressm

. >> additional corporate funding is provided by norfolk southern, and american steamboat company, proud to support "washington week" on pbs. additional funding provided by the annenburg foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions from your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> once again here from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. if you listen closely to the major party candidates for president, you'll see two men at war over a narrative. for president obama it is this that mitt romney is out of touch, will raise your taxes an will not tell you about his. this was the president today. >> at a time when too many working families are already struggling to make ends meet, they want to give millionaires and billionaires and folks like me tax cuts that we don't need and that the country can't afford even if middle-class families have to pick up the tab for. those are their priorities. gwen: for governor romney it is this that he is the man with the experience to turn the country around without raising taxes or abandoning national p