Paul Ryan draws big crowds as VP pick energises Romney campaign

The Obama campaign has attempted to play down the apparent excitement generated by Mitt Romney’s new running mate Paul Ryan, a move that boosted crowds at the Republican presidential challenger's events.

Romney and Ryan, on their first full day campaigning together on Sunday, attracted much bigger audiences than normal for Romney events, which on the whole tend to be sparsely populated.

It comes at a time when Barack Obama’s own drawing-power has become an issue, with the campaign denying reports that turnout is well down on the 2008 campaign.

Obama's senior adviser, David Axelrod, interviewed on CBS on Monday morning, expressed scepticism over whether the Romney-Ryan ticket would continue to generate the kind of enthusiasm seen at campaign events in North Carolina on Sunday.

He recalled that when John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate, there was the same "kind of excitement". But in the longer term Ryan is, like Palin, "not going to be a plus for Mr Romney", Axelrod said.

Romney went campaigning on his own in Florida on Monday while Ryan went to Iowa to shadow Obama, who begins a three-day bus tour of the state, before hopping to Colorado, another swing state, where he will campaign on Tuesday.

Ryan attracted a large crowd to his speech at the Iowa state fair, including noisy hecklers who accused him of waging war on the working-class.

A New York Times reporter said Obama, at a fundraiser in his hometown Chicago on Sunday, attracted only a half-full crowd for an event where ticket prices began at $51. The Romney campaign spokesman, Ryan Williams, tweeted: "The thrill has gone."

The Obama campaign, as well as other journalists, disputed the the New York Times assessment by the reporter, who later deleted her first comment and posted a modified tweet. 

The Romney campaign denied this was why Ryan was sent to Iowa rather than Florida and stressed the Wisconsin congressman will be campaigning in Florida on Saturday.

Romney attracted a big crowd at his first event in Florida, at Flagler College, but this may have been partly because of earlier publicity suggesting that Ryan would also be present. As in North Carolina, some of the crowd had to listen from outside.

Romney defended Ryan's proposed Medicare shake-up, saying reform is necessary to protect the programme for future generations. "We want to make sure that we preserve and protect Medicare," Romney said.

At the same time, he has left himself a loophole if the controversy begins to damage his campaign, saying that the budget if he wins the White House would be his rather than Ryan's.

Keywords - Paul Ryan draws big crowds as VP pick energises Romney campaign, The Obama campaign has attempted to play down the apparent excitement generated by Mitt Romney’s new running mate Paul Ryan.