what energized the author here. and it s clear that the ryan pick has energized the republican base, there is no doubt. look at that rally you re about to show in new hampshire? there are a lot of people there. it s a swing state and they are very enthusiastic about mitt romney. now what s it doing with the independent voters that both sides are fighting for? it s a khra sha cliche to say it but we just don t know. we ll know later. martha: one of the biggest messages that they need to work on, one of their aims today would be to clarify the medicare issue. are you surprised at the way that is sorting itself out so far at least in this race? the romney first of all by picking paul ryan they knew that they would elevate medicare into a top issue in the campaign. they weren t surprised by that. they ve been very, very aggressive at turning it around on barack obama and saying, he, through obamacare is the one who would actually cut medicare benefits for current seniors. they ve been