it was eight days, nine days ago we were discussing paul ryan, the article in "the new yorker" called fuss budget. did you know then he was actually on the fast track to be a pick for the vp? >> no, we barely talked about it in my interview. the reason i wrote the piece, i wanted to think about what is romney going so do if he wins. if you want to understand what republicans will do if they gain the white house, paul ryan is the guy to understand. it was his policy agenda that you knew romney was going in the direction. i didn't think he would take paul ryan himself. >> you could have said yes and told us you did -- >> i want to be honest. i did say he was a long shot for veep. >> we're talking all about paul ryan today. in fact, we want to get up close and personal with the congressman. mitt romney says he is very happy with his new running mate, ryan seems genuinely moved by the appointment and at point practically crying with emotion. last night on "60 minutes." paul ryan said romney has been battling on an uneven playing field for too long. >> going to help him win the race to do it for the american people. we're going to split up more f often than not and double our efforts. it was one against two for a while now it's two against two. we'll bring a message to the country. here's how you get the country back on track. >> we're going to talk more this morning about that message. president obama is leaving chicago kicking off a three-day bus tour across iowa. vice president biden has a campaign event in durham, north carolina. and ryan will make his first solo appearance as romney's running mate at the iowa state fair in des moines. while romney makes two stops in the state of florida. all of that brings us to jim acosta, joining us from saint augustine. good morning, jim. >> reporter: good morning, soledad. i had a chance to talk to a couple of advisers and they do like the response to the romney/ryan ticket. they had some of the biggest crowds at the campaign as seen over the last 48 hours in states like virginia, north carolina and wisconsin. and they do recognize that the ryan budget plan you just mentioned has stoked some controversy but they emphasize mitt romney is at the top of the ticket. they also like the visuals coming out of this team. paul ryan as they like to point out, first generation x vice presidential candidate in this country's history. he's got a young wife and family that they had out there on the campaign trail as well. but these two men have gone their separate ways. paul ryan off to iowa and mitt romney in florida. we saw the two of them shake hands and get on separate planes last night on a tarmac in wisconsin. but not after the wisconsin congressman had an emotional home coming at an event in wisconsin late yesterday. here's what he had to say. >> i'm fifth generation from this state. my family came here back in the 1800s. made a go of it. it's where we've all raised our families ever since. this is such a phenomenal place to live ando work and to raise your family. my veins run with cheese, bratwurst and a little spot of linies and some miller. >> now, for our nonwisconsin viewers, soledad, that linies, he's referring to are line and koogle's and other wisconsin beers there. paul ryan flexing his wisconsin muscles talking about his wisconsin roots. we should mention getting back to the medicare issue. the obama campaign has released a new campaign video hitting romney and ryan on medicare, featuring seniors down here in florida. we'll get a chance to see how this ryan plan for the budget will play with seniors later on this week. and the romney campaign is pushing back on the notion that they are hiding paul ryan from florida. they say he will be down here for a campaign event later on this saturday. soledad? >> we're going to be watching. thanks, jim. in a couple of minutes we'll talk to congressman randy forbes from the state of virginia. he spoke at the rally when paul ryan made his running debut. first let's get to john berman with a look at the day's top stories. >> good morning, an illinois man charged with shooting his air rifle at the mosque during ramadan services will appear in bond court. the leader of the mosque thinks david conrad should be charged with a hate crime. but police say prosecutors rejected hate crime charges in this case. gabby giffords is back home 19 months after being shot at a political event. they moved back to tucson yesterday permanently. giffords had been spending most of her time in houston rehabbing. her husband mark kelly tweeting, gabby has been waiting for this day for a long time. >> ee vank lift billy graham is alert and good spirits. he was battling a pulmonary infection believed to be bronchitis. no date has been set for his discharge. nfl star chad johnson, formerly known as chad ochocinco is known as a dolphin. he was arrested for head butt being his wife. according to the arrest report, lasada was asking for a receipt for condoms she found when he grabbed her and head butted her causing a laceration. johnson -- >> a lot going on with that one. >> next stop, rio. london promised a party and they delivered. spice girls, george michael, the who, annie len ox and even an appearance by monte python, eric idle, so what do these olympians do next? coming up next hour, soledad sits down with picabo street. >> i'm guessing they go to a bar and take a week off from practice. and go back at it. >> they don't all make it and come back and get the big whe wheatty's box. >> thanks, ryan. >> moving on now. >> i was sad to learn that. >> our "starting point" is the new romney/ryan ticket. they are trying to earn some of the key swing state votes. as we mentioned they will hit iowa and florida separately. they gave their first joint interview last night where mitt romney gave paul ryan high praise. listen. >> paul could become if it were necessary, could become president. he has the experience and judgment and capacity and character to become president. that was the first and most important criteria. >> randy forbes is a republican congressman from state of virginia and member of the arms services and judiciary committee. he spoke at the rally on the "uss wisconsin" when paul ryan made his running mate debut. thanks for talking with us. i know we have great photos you took in virginia where folks were going wild cheering. do you think you'll be met with cheerls from -- i think what's a critical group here, the independents and undecideds, will they have the same energetic take on paul ryan being added to the ticket zpl. >> soledad, i thenk think they . i've known him politically and personally and governmental capacity. he has such a strong character and strong family man. most importantly paul ryan is a brilliant guy. has more good ideas about breakfast than most people have in their entire career. what most independents are looking for, they are tired of this these political attacks and want new government ideas. that's what paul is going to bring to the table. i think it's going to excite them. >> he's an unknown if you look at the polling. and there isn't a lot among independents and this was done before he was tapped to be vp pick, favorable 27%, unfavorable 22%, no opinion, 15% and never heard of the largest there at 36%. which is most concerning statistic of those that i just read to you as you look at that list right now? what worries you on that list? >> none of those statistics. he's been announced a little over a day. and i think in just a few weeks america is going to know paul ryan. the more they know, the more excited they are going to be. if in fact the economy is the number one issue in in country for most people and jobs are the number one issue in the economy, they can't find anybody better than paul ryan to bring the ideas to the table that we need to turn this economy around and start rehiring people across the country. >> we'll talk budget in a moment. i want to talk about medicare, best known for the dra mat in , inc.,ic changes he would like to see am medicare. 55 and older as he proposes it wouldn't change. under 55, the goal is a voucher system where seniors could pick what they want go into effect in the year 2023. do you worry that talking about dramatic changes for medicare is going to be of great concern for the people in the swing states that have an older population, like the sat of florida and pennsylvania and iowa? >> soledad, i don't. a couple of reasons for that. first of all, i think the most dangerous approach to medicare is vice president biden's approach. i think the second most dangerous approach is what the president wants to do in taking $700 billion out of medicare, which he's proposed to do. the third thing and what i think is going to be very concerning to people in rereassuring to them is the fact that paul has made it clear for people 55 and older, they won't have a change in medicare. medicare is going to go bankrupt if we don't do something to change it. he wants to make sure he strengthened it and preserves it for generations after us. >> elaborate for me when you say vice president bid's plan. give me some specifics on that. but i have to tell you as i'm sure you know, $700 million figure has been -- billion dollar figures has been debunked by cnn and the congressional budget office. that number has been battered around a lot. and that's very much political spin. tell me vice president biden, what plan does he have. >> soledad, that's just it. he doesn't have a plan. if you have no plan at all, then medicare is going to go bankrupt and we won't have it at all for ople under 55. we decide we're going to do with the vice president has done and put our head in the hole and do nothing and led medicare go bankrupt or do something to make sure we're preserving for people 55 and under. paul is trying to fut ideas on the table, if you're on medicare, approaching the time to be on medicare, you're not going to be impacted at all. for those who are younger than 55 and know that they won't have medicare when they are there because it's going to be bankrupt, we want to do something to make sure we're shoring that up and it's going to be there for them. i think doing nothing is not a satisfactory approach. >> always good to see you. >> i appreciate that, thanks. >> ryan, you heard from the congressman, the theory that do something is better than do nothing. i was sort of confused when he brought in the vice president biden. >> i was too, didn't understand what he meant. he was just saying he's proposing nothing. >> as opposed to paul ryan who proposed something. >> they will be debating in the vice presidential debate what congressman forbes is aing, rather than obama he's pointing to biden. >> it seemed very deliberate, i wonder if he's trying to change the debate to paul ryan to the man he'll be running against, joe biden. in a way it raises mitt romney. he was somewhat diminished because we were talking about ryan's plan not his. >> interesting strategy, do something versus do nothing. if that's the plan when you're going to have clearly over the next i'd say starting yesterday to continuing on, an attack and focus by the dems on this budget and medicare. >> the medicare -- look the republican line on medicare is to point out to this $700 billion figure. they are going to say, you want to say paul ryan is going to hurt medicare, wait a second the president of the united states took $700 billion out of medicare and used it to pay for obama care. what's important to point out as you were getting at in the interview, that $700 billion was not cuts to beneficiaries. they took $700 billion out of payments to actually decrease in the rate, in the rate of increase to providers. it's not beneficiaries that got -- we'll hear that number a lot. >> clearly. >> important to spell out what went on. >> he was signaling a lot of what we'll see in the debate as we move forward. we'll keep talking about this this morning. still ahead, delaware's democratic governor jack markell will join us. he's calling it out of touch with the middle class. i think i hear another strategy. how much would you pay for your child's school back pack? guch chi is hoping you're comfortable with $800. >> what? >> god, i have so many children, i could never possibly afford that. top fashion designers are pushing super expensive duds head back to school. we say, get real. ntgomery and abigail higgins had... ...a tree that bore the most rare and magical fruit. which provided for their every financial need. and then, in one blinding blink of an eye, their tree had given its last. but with their raymond james financial advisor, they had prepared for even the unthinkable. and they danced. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you. it's something you're born with. and inspires the things you choose to do. you do what you do... because it matters. at hp we don't just believe in the power of technology. we believe in the power of people when technology works for you. to dream. to create. to work. if you're going to do something. make it matter. they've only been running mates for 48 hours, but they are dividing and con quering. ryan is make being his first solo appearance at the iowa state fair. romney is holding an event in saint augustine florida. at 8:45 cnn will bring you live coverage when it happens. i want to bring in jack markell. -- >> former head of the -- >> that's right. we talked about why are transition up u that must free up your time for other things like talking about paul ryan as vp. >> i want to congratulate him and his family, must be an exciting moment for them. it sets up a very stark contrast between the two. i think as more americans become more familiar with his approach, with his plans and policies, they'll see there's an incredible mismatch between some of the rhetoric and the reality. and particularly around helping the economy. >> let's talk specifically about that. you see cheers, it seems and i was over the weekend talking to upstate where i live, some of the folks in the rublican party there, we're thrilled, like, he's a strong choice, bowled choice, these are their words, that he's defined and true conservative. he puts solutions on the table. they were lift rally he is static about his choice. >> are those solutions the right solutions? if the only thing that matters growing the economy and particularly for the middle class, i think the answer is no. let's take a look at the two choices. the romney and ryan approach is very much focused almost exclusively on cutting taxes for the very, very wealthiest. we all want lowtaxes. but then you take a look, how do you really grow middle class? you need investments in education. you need investments in infrastructure and need investments in science and research. those are things that the ryan budget cuts cuts cuts, different approaches. if you're trying to build an economy, from the middle class out, i think that's a much better approach. >> paul ryan has said his strategy for building a middle class and upward mobility is clear out government, move it out of the way. it's not -- i think his words were more about don't enable the poor but instead enable entrepreneurship and enable people to make their way better and that they are being hampered by the government. a lot of people agree with that. >> we certainty don't want more government than we need. but there are things only government can do. only government will make the necessary investments in basic research that then gets commercialized. government is in a very strong position with respect to public schools to make sure that we continue to provide opportunities for kids across this country. his plan, cuts pel grants for 10 million kids. it kicks 200,000 young kids off of head start. these are not the kinds of investments going to lead to a prosperous future. i think it's important that americans of all parties understand in some detail what his specific approaches are. >> can i ask a question. there's a lively debate over medicare and a lot of republicans are saying, this president is not -- can't attack paul ryan and mitt romney, he took $700 million they will say out of the program and others will say boehner and obama were this close to a deal that would have raised the age. the president is pretty much on record for raising the age to 67. how do democrats have an advantage on the issue? >> the congressional budget office has the affordable care act extends of life of medicare, number one. >> that's -- what about the $700 billion? >> first of all, and i think one of your previous speakers talked about it. the difference is the ryan plan cuts the benefits for beneficiaries. essentially it's going to transfer more of a burden onto the beneficiaries and in contrast, the obama plan does not do that. here's the bigger point. bigger point, the president's plan recognizes what we have is a sit care system, where providers and hospitals and the like get paid based on how many procedures they do. the affordable care act really shows how we get to rewarding people, rewarding providers for quality. all that the ryan plan does is cut, cut these are two fundamentally different things. no question we have to address the solvency of the entire health care system. but so much of that is moving away from the fee for service paying providers for how many procedures they do and actually we warding people for quality. >> always nice to have you with us. >> still ahead on "starting point" -- gucci and and doll si and cabani. top designers are going after our kids for back to school shopping. it is our get real and our "starting point" team to head in. richard socarides and will cain, i missed you. >> i know you did. >> what about me? >> that goes without saying. we're back in a moment. [ female announcer ] ready for a taste of what's hot? check out the latest collection of snacks from lean cuisine. creamy spinach artichoke dip, crispy garlic chicken spring rolls. they're this season's must-have accessory. lean cuisine. be culinary chic. the blissful pause just before that rich sweetness touches your lips. the delightful discovery, e mid-sweetening realization that you have the house all to yourself. well, almost. the sweet reward, making a delicious choice that's also a smart choice. splenda no-calorie sweetener. with the original sugar-like taste you love and trust. splenda makes the moment yours. , everybody, our team, will cain, a columnist for "the blaze.com. and ryan lizza, the washington correspondent for "the new yorker. all boy panel this morning. wow. our get real, how much money have you spent on your kid's stuff? i try to go asheap as possible because they grow like weeds, $10 on a t-shirt, $20 on shoes. i'm cheap. new designers or old designers in some cases charging crazy prices for kids for growing children. kids clothes that run into the thousands of dollars. a sequined dress cost $1200 for your kid. a wool hat and ballerina style slippers, $380 a piece. and it comes with card gans that are fur lined, $1200, i assume real fur. gucci too, dresses for under $500 and $800 for a kid's gucci backpack. >> you got to have the latest thing when you go to school. the target audience for this, rich gullible grandparents. >> i have a 4-year-old and ryan, you have a 5-year-old. with these apparently desiring consumers, the difference between a napkin and his shirt, if you're wiping your chocolate covered hands on a $400 shirt? >> $5200 silk party dress and same thing, they go like this and it's like -- smear. >> get real. >> two words, get real. >> thank you, richard. exactly my point. i think i'm right about this one. we want to know about your think about it. you can send us a video, 20 seconds total max, about a point you want to make on the show. we're calling it my end point. we'll pick one and include it in the