House Republicans Target Attorney General; Interview with John Sununu
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: The president is set to go another round against Mitt Romney's new running mate, Paul Ryan. We will hear from him live this hour. A new lawsuit against the attorney general. House Republicans are fighting a White House claim of executive privilege. And a U.S. warship collides with an oil tanker. How in the world did this happen? I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Whatever you may think about Mitt Romney's selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate, it's already been a game changer. Just listen to the back and forth today between Romney and President Obama.</s>MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We also shouldn't cut Medicare to pay for Obamacare to the tune of some $700 billion. That's what -- that's what the president does to Medicare. To current recipients of Medicare, he cuts the payments that go to Medicare by $700 billion and he uses that to pay for Obamacare. Those are places where Paul Ryan and I agree.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know Congressman Ryan. He's a good man, he's a family man. He's an articulate spokesman for Governor Romney's vision. But the problem is that vision is one that I fundamentally disagree with.</s>BLITZER: We won't know for a while if Romney's choice of Ryan helps the Republicans or the Democrats. But the debate has changed. And that's good. It's no longer simply a referendum on the president's record during his first term. Now there's a serious discussion of what a President Romney would do in office if elected because of his selection of Ryan. Unlike, say, a Tim Pawlenty or a Rob Portman, Ryan has laid out a very detailed and controversial budget plan. And that, of course, includes a dramatic change in Medicare for Americans 55 or younger. The government-run health care program for seniors is exceedingly popular across the country. Polls show that even conservatives and self-described Tea Party supporters overwhelmingly support Medicare. However the Medicare issue plays out, Romney showed guts in tapping Ryan. And I'm glad he did. He could have played it safe with a Pawlenty or a Portman, but Romney saw his poll numbers moving in the wrong direction in recent weeks and decided he needed a game change, just like John McCain did four years ago. We know how Sarah Palin played. Now let's see how Ryan plays. Let's head over to our chief national correspondent, John King. He's on the road in Iowa right now with Paul Ryan, who is solo on the campaign trail today. John, Ryan certainly felt a little bit of the heat of the national stage today. Tell our viewers what happened.</s>JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that first test of how Paul Ryan fares with the American people came here at the Iowa State Fair. And as he came here, Paul Ryan found out, yes, they have corn dogs, just about anything you can eat on a stick, deep-fried Twinkies and feisty politics.</s>REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Like I said, she must not be from Iowa.</s>KING (voice-over): It was a feisty welcome to Iowa a raucous first solo outing on the national political stage.</s>RYAN: Iowans and Wisconsinites, we like to be respectful of one another.</s>KING: Iowa State Police hauled off two women who charged the stage and Paul Ryan soldiered on, ignoring one persistent heckler near the front who screamed throughout his 15-minute Iowa State Fair speech.</s>RYAN: We don't want to follow Europe. We don't want a welfare state. We don't want a debt crisis. We don't want to prolong this recession. We don't want to keep this path of household incomes going down $4,000. We want to turn this thing around.</s>KING: On the way in, CNN asked Ryan about immediate Obama campaign attacks that a Romney/Ryan victory would endanger Medicare. (on camera): Hey, Mr. Chairman, they are calling voters here in your state and in here Iowa saying this is proof they're going to take away your Medicare. What do you say to that?</s>RYAN: We will play these issues later. We will play stump the running mate later. But our job is to strengthen and protect Medicare. That's what we do. President Obama, they're raiding and ultimately rationing Medicare. We will deal with these issues later, though, OK, John?</s>KING (voice-over): This was his first solo event since being picked for the Republican ticket, and Ryan's casual, at-ease style is one reason the Romney campaign believes he's a big asset in Iowa and across the Midwest, especially with white working-class voters critical to Republican chances here.</s>RYAN: Where are you from?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Des Moines, Iowa.</s>RYAN: Oh, great. Great.</s>KING: The upsides are obvious,. Conservatives love the pick. Ryan is an energetic campaigner and that youthful energy is rubbing off on Romney. But there are downsides, like Romney, limited foreign policy experience, only 42, but already 20 years of working in Washington, and a conservative record the base loves, but is a tougher sell with suburban moderates. What is immediately clear though is that the Obama campaign in Wisconsin is already working harder, same look for their brand, but a new script to slam the opposition. Calls to Wisconsin voters now deal directly with the Ryan factor, nice guy, the Obama volunteers say, but a threat to Medicare and Social Security.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think his policies are the big difference. And I think that Obama, you know, is going to help people like you and</s>I. KING: The president won Wisconsin by 14 points four years ago, but it's much closer this time. And Republicans here say the Ryan pick adds even more energy to a hungry GOP base.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Much more intense, much more at stake, much more on the line. That hope and change isn't quite working out like everybody hoped it would.</s>KING: And, of course, the biggest question is whether the Ryan pick matters at all once this rollout buzz fades, as vice presidential picks typically don't have much impact. But, Wolf, the way both the Romney and the Obama campaigns are talking so much about Paul Ryan, maybe this year will be different.</s>BLITZER: Might be different. The debate certainly has changed over the past 48 hours to be sure. John, thanks very, very much. Now to President Obama's swing through Iowa on this day and his jabs at Paul Ryan. The president is due to talk about the economy in the city of Boone very, very soon. We will go there live. But, right now, let's bring in White House correspondent, Dan Lothian. He's traveling with the president. What's the latest on that front, Dan?</s>DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You're right, Wolf. The president talking about the economy here in Iowa over the next three days, drawing a sharp contrast with Mitt Romney. And now more ammunition going after Paul Ryan today. At an earlier event, the president said he was "a good man," but said quite the opposite about his record.</s>LOTHIAN (voice-over): In the state that helped launch him to the White House in 2008, President Obama asked for a repeat performance and found a new way to energize voters by trying to connect GOP vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan to all that he says is wrong with Washington.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mr. Romney chose as his running as his running mate the ideological leader of the Republicans in Congress. He is an articulate spokesman for Governor Romney's vision, but the problem is, that vision is one that I fundamentally disagree with.</s>LOTHIAN: In an agriculture-rich state dealing with the worst drought in decades, the president made what the White House described as an official stop to hear firsthand from the owners of a struggling family-owned farm.</s>OBAMA: We can't make it rain, but this help families like the McIntoshes in states across the country, including here in Iowa. And we're going to keep doing what we can to help.</s>LOTHIAN: A backdrop that seemed to conveniently reinforce his earlier attack on Ryan and House Republicans, that they are to blame for blocking what he said was a much-needed farm bill.</s>OBAMA: He is one of the leaders of Congress standing in the way. So if you happen to see Congressman Ryan, tell him how important this farm bill is to Iowa and our rural communities.</s>LOTHIAN: House Republicans are pointing the finger at the Democratic-led Senate that took a summer break without acting on a bill they recently passed to offer drought relief to farmers and ranchers. But Ryan remains a rich target for the president's reelection team. They're painting his budget plan as devastating for Medicare and seniors, bad for the middle class, but good for the rich.</s>STEPHANIE CUTTER, OBAMA 2012 DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER: It's a budget for redistributing wealth to the top.</s>DAVID AXELROD, SENIOR OBAMA CAMPAIGN STRATEGIST: He's quite extreme.</s>LOTHIAN: Republicans call this narrative a false attack by a president who has delivered nothing but broken promises.</s>GOV. BOB MCDONNELL (R), VIRGINIA: The president's talking about issues that really don't resonate with the people. And I think what Paul Ryan brings to the ticket is now a serious conversation about debt, taxes, spending, energy, entitlement reform.</s>LOTHIAN: Now, the president has also been outlining a series of steps his administration has taken to help farmers during this period of great drought, including up to $170 million to buy beef and fish. But the Romney campaign is pushing back, saying that no one is more committed to helping farmers and ranchers than Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Dan, thanks very much -- Dan Lothian traveling with the president. We're waiting for President Obama's remarks, by the way. He's in Boone, Iowa. As soon as he starts speaking, we're going to go there live, the president of the United States getting ready to speak.</s>BLITZER: The House Republicans say President Obama and his attorney general have simply gone too far to protect secret documents. So they're going to court. We have new information. And the president of the United States -- look at this -- he has just taken the stage in Iowa. He's thanking a lot of local folks for welcoming him. We're going to go there live right after this.