At Iowa State Fair, Ryan criticizes Obama on economy

DES MOINES - U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan's first appearance in Iowa as a vice presidential candidate turned the Iowa State Fair into a media circus and political zoo.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney named Ryan, of Wisconsin, as his running mate over the weekend. On Monday, thousands of fairgoers jammed the grand concourse to hear his 12-minute speech, which was punctuated by shouts from hecklers and cheers from supporters.

Steve Knouse of Tombell, Texas, a Ryan supporter who got an unexpected glimpse of the Wisconsin congressman, said he liked the remarks that “I could hear over the protesters. That's the environment you have to work in.”

Ryan told the assembled throng that President Barack Obama continues to pile up massive federal debt by spending more money than the government takes in.

“He's making matters worse and he's spending our children into a diminished future,” he said.

“We're not growing this country like we need to to get us back on the path to prosperity,” added Ryan, praising Romney as “a man who knows how to create jobs.”

At times, the congressman had to speak over hoots and taunts from protesters, telling the crowd that since Iowans and Wisconsinites “like to be respectful of one another and peaceful with one another and listen to each other,” the hecklers must not be from either of those states.

Near the back of the crowd, a woman held up a sign that read “Hands off my Medicare,” in apparent reference to a voucherlike system Ryan has proposed to reshape Medicare. Another woman tried to shield the sign from observers and TV cameras with a “Romney Believe in America” placard.

U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, a Waterloo Democrat who said he considers Ryan a friend, said the Wisconsin congressman “has very different ideas about how to deal with things like paying for Social Security, paying for Medicare and paying for education.” He said he expects those issues will become “a focal point for many of the sharp differences that we're going to be talking about” during the 2012 campaign.

Sue Dvorsky, chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party, said Democrats welcome that debate.

“He's going to have to explain to these people why voucherizing and privatizing Medicare is a good thing,” she said.

Dvorsky said the fact that Ryan and Obama both were in Iowa this week points to the importance the state has in this election.

“The first place they send him after they split the team up is here. That's probably important,” she said. “We are literally in the center of a state that's literally in the middle of the country and truly in the middle of this fight. I think it's very exciting.”

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said Monday proved that Iowa is a battleground state and Ryan's visit was “to make sure that Obama doesn't get all the publicity from his trip across Iowa,” but he didn't read too much into the throngs who gathered to greet the congressman.

“I've been around too many presidential candidates that have a mob and they didn't win, so that in and of itself doesn't solve the problem,” the Iowa Republican said. “But the fact that he's willing to do this speaks a lot about him, that he's not going to take anything for granted.”