COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa - President Obama plans to come out swinging at Mitt Romney's new running mate on Monday, accusing Representative Paul D. Ryan of blocking the farm bill that is meant to help farmers and ranchers in the midst of a severe drought.
During his first full day of campaigning since the Wisconsin congressman joined the Republican ticket, the president, his aides said, planned to focus on Mr. Ryan, who is also campaigning in Iowa.
“If you happen to see Congressman Ryan, tell him how important this farm bill is to Iowa and our rural communities,†Mr. Obama will say in his speech, excerpts of which were released Monday before a planned appearance in Council Bluffs to kick off his bus tour.
The House Republican leadership chose not to bring a committee-passed farm bill to the floor for a vote before the August recess, fearing a Republican split over spending and farm price supports.
Mr. Obama's campaign has unleashed a barrage of criticism of Mr. Ryan, and at times it seemed as if the Wisconsin Congressman was at the top of the Republican ticket instead of Mr. Romney. Mr. Obama's political adviser, David Axelrod, told CBS's “This Morning†that while Mr. Ryan was “a genial fellow,†he believed his selection was similar to Senator John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin four years ago, a choice that initially generated much excitement. Mr. Axelrod pointed out that Mr. Ryan favors policies that would cut back Medicare and put a greater burden on the less fortunate.
Mr. Obama was planning to push that message when he starts campaigning on Monday, his aides said. The choice of Council Bluffs was significant not only because Iowa is so critical to the president's re-election hopes, but also because it is just across the Missouri River from Omaha, and in the same television market. With Nebraska's split electoral map, the president is trying to scrape as many votes as he can get. In 2008, he won the state's 2nd District, the first time a Democrat did so since 1964; the win gave him one electoral vote in Nebraska to Mr. McCain's four.
White House officials said the president would address the drought, which has destroyed crops, and would direct the Agriculture Department to buy up to $170 million of meat and poultry to help relieve farmers and ranchers. The president has been pushing for passage of the farm bill, but Democrats and Republicans have been fighting over farm subsidies and food stamp items in the bill.
