VP ideological divide sparks health care sparring match

The vice presidential candidates prepare to meet each other in a debate -- each with very different ideas on moving forward on health care. In the meantime, GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan defends his stance on automatic cuts to lower the deficit -- which differ from his running mate's stance.

The New York Times: Ideological Opposites Prepare To Meet In Debate
As Mr. Ryan buckled down on Sunday for his first full day of debate preparation, Mr. Biden campaigned over the weekend in Ohio, where he derisively labeled Mr. Ryan's plan to overhaul Medicare "vouchercare." The vice president challenged the news media to "fact-check me." The Romney-Ryan campaign responded with a direct round, singling out Mr. Biden. "Vice President Biden is once again advancing fabricated and disproven attacks," said a spokeswoman, Amanda Henneberg (Gabriel, 9/9).

The New York Times' The Caucus: Ryan Defends His 'Yes' Vote On Automatic Defense Cuts
Representative Paul D. Ryan, the Republican nominee for vice president, on Sunday defended his decision to support automatic cuts in defense spending as a way to force a deal on reducing the deficit, an approach that was sharply criticized by his running mate, Mitt Romney. … Mr. Ryan said that he backed the deal, which could result in an automatic 8 percent cut in defense spending in January, in an effort to compromise with Democrats on deficit reduction. … The House bill, which Mr. Ryan wrote and Senate Democrats oppose, would stave off reductions in military spending by cutting safety-net programs for the poor, including food stamps, school lunch subsidies and children's health insurance (Swans, 9/9).