chance. i think romney really needs to have a clear victory next week to throw new hampshire back into the mix. i mean, certainly, there is still some volatility here. no one s saying it s over here in new hampshire, but i think the thing is, new hampshire s behaving just like it did four years ago. nothing in the past four years has changed new hampshire s essential character as this democratic-leaning bellwether. last question here, ten seconds. we know that the state has been inundated with tv and web ads, obviously. talk to me really quickly about the ground game for governor romney. how would you characterize the governor s ground game in new hampshire? you know, it s somewhat it compares to obama, although obama got a head start, really, in the springtime. i mean, mitt romney was very prominent up to the primary. then they turned their attention to other states. anne kornblut with the washington post , dante scala, thank you so much, do appreciate your time. thank you.
heating up. our team reports after going dark on tv 11 days ago, the romney campaign put more than $4 million in tv ads. here s a look at some of the ads from both campaigns on the web right now. you think i didn t see you with sara jessica parker and george clooney? you re not the person i thought you were. it s not me. it s you. in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle class. nbc news deputy political editor, obviously those are web ads. the others will hit the tv very soon in battleground states. this is the next level of the game after the conventions. yeah, like you said, tamron, $4.5 million is going up now that the romney campaign is buying up in eight battleground states. in three key states, virginia,
then they separated. romney s crowds weren t as energetic or as big. this is the scene that you ll likely play out on web ads or commercials leading up to the convention. there are two film crews here, and a lot of production value already behind us. chris. all right. thank you. nbc s peter alexander. as we wait for that to start, let s bring in republican strategyist gist chip staltsman, and chris cafinas. chip, let me start with you. talk about changing that popular program. ooshlly it s avoided by presidential candidates, but the selection of paul ryan, i think, pretty much made sure that this was going to be part of a conversation, but is that a conversation republicans want to have? i think they re absolutely excited to have it. we want to have this conversation. you know, when we talked about these programs intooilgts entitlement programs 20 years ago, they go bankrupt in 2050 or 2045. where he we never thought it would happen in our lifetime. now they re going to go broke in
he has a plan on the table that they are able to pick apart. i think the republicans have made the case before that while the president has a budget on the table, it has little chance of passage on capitol hill. it is more of a moving target for them as to what exactly the president would do to change medicare. w45 is interesting when you take a step back is very quickly with paul ryan in this race, medicare has become one of the defining issues of this campaign. and it was thought the knee jerk response among pundits that it would hurt the republican ticket, and is it now just a watch or how would you describe it? it is honestly too early to tell. in a state like florida where paul ryan is going immediately, the obama campaign has put out web ads and whatnot saying this would be disasterous for seniors in florida. how we are going to answer your question and whether or not paul ryan is able to make the case he started to make as he did in that interview with brett hume a couple d
gillespie on why his candidate gambled on a wonk who is wanting to overhaul medicare. and then risk/reward, ron brown, and cnn s dan lothian. i m candy crowley. this is state of the union. the campaign trail is most often a series of mind-numbing days interrupted by the ones that you will never forget, and the days when you know that one way or another, something has changed, and saturday was one of those days for mitt romney. what works here, and what works around the world is free people pursuing their dreams. we want those dreamers here. we can accomplish our dreams. because as much as voters learned about paul ryan yesterday, they may have learned more about romney first and foremost that this most cautious of candidates will take a big risk for the potential of a big payoff. at first blush this much could be said for the ryan pick, it appears to have brought home conservatives. joining fouser a conversation of that and more i john thune, s senator from south dako