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Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's selection of Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate could dramatically shift the race for the White House into a debate between two sharply contrasting views of government spending and debt and its role in the daily lives of Americans.
In choosing Ryan - a budget hawk whose provocative plan to reduce government spending has won him fans in the conservative Tea Party movement and made him a target for Democrats - the typically cautious Romney took the biggest gamble of his year-long candidacy on Saturday.
He has embarked on a high-risk, high-reward strategy of aligning himself with Ryan, whose budget plan would cut taxes and restructure Medicare, the popular government-backed health insurance program, and other safety-net social programs to try to inspire investment and rein in runaway government spending.
Democrats say Ryan's plan would amount to draconian cuts in programs that help protect the nation's most vulnerable people.
Democrats - whose platform focuses on middle-class tax cuts, higher taxes for the wealthy and a healthcare overhaul that requires most Americans to buy insurance - already are blasting Romney for picking Ryan, and vowing to cast Romney as an enemy of programs that benefit the poor and elderly.
The potency of such an argument by Democrats - particularly in crucial states such as Florida, which has a large elderly population - was clear on Saturday.
Shortly after he announced Ryan as his running mate, Romney's campaign emphasized to reporters that picking Ryan did not mean that Romney supported his entire budget plan.
Romney needed a burst of energy for his campaign after falling behind Democratic President Barack Obama in recent polls. He chose Ryan, the chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, after ruling out more conventional candidates - such as Ohio Senator Rob Portman and former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty - whose impact on the race likely would have been more benign.
Welcomed onstage by Romney on Saturday, Ryan said the United States is in a "dangerous" moment of trillion-dollar budget deficits and rising national debt.
"We're running out of time and we can't afford four more years of this," said Ryan, 42, who has been in Congress for 13 years.
Ryan, a catholic, drew his biggest reaction when he said that "our rights come from nature and God, not from government".
He has many fans in the anti-tax, limited-government Tea Party movement, although some activists have not forgiven him for voting for a $700 billion Wall Street bailout in 2008.
His selection drew fire from Democrats, who said they relished the opportunity to showcase Ryan's proposed reductions for Medicare and other social programs.
"Mitt Romney has chosen a leader of the House Republicans who shares his commitment to the flawed theory that new budget busting tax cuts for the wealthy, while placing greater burdens on the middle class and seniors, will somehow deliver a stronger economy," said Obama campaign manager JimMessina.
Questions:
1. Who is the Republican Presidential candidate?
2. Who has been chosen as the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate?
3. Which political group has high support for the Republican ticket?
Answers:
1. Mitt Romney.
2. Paul Ryan.
3. The Tea Party.
About the broadcaster:
CJ Henderson is a foreign expert for China Daily's online culture department. CJ is a graduate of the University of Sydney where she completed a Bachelors degree in Media and Communications, Government and International Relations, and American Studies. CJ has four years of experience working across media platforms, including work for 21st Century Newspapers in Beijing, and a variety of media in Australia and the US.