Obama defends health law, saying Romney would end its consumer protections

The Associated Press/Florida Today: Obama: With Health Care, Romney Just 'Doesn't Care'
President Barack Obama slapped a "Romney doesn't care" label on his rival's health-care views Sunday and said Republicans want to repeal new protections for millions without offering a plan of their own. ... "Gov. Romney promised that on his first day in office he's gonna sit right down, grab a pen and repeal Obamacare," the president said. "What that means is that right away he'd kick 7 million young people off their parents' plan. He'd take hope away from tens of millions of American with pre-existing conditions by repealing reform," the president said. "You know, he calls it Obamacare. I like the name. I do care. …. I don't know exactly what the other side is proposing; I guess you could call it 'Romney doesn't care.' But this law is here to stay" (Espo, 9/3).

USA Today: Biden: GOP Would Turn Medicare Into 'Voucher Care'
The Obama campaign is trying to put a new tag on Republican Medicare plans. "Voucher care." "We are for Medicare, they are for voucher care," said Vice President Biden on Sunday in Green Bay, Wis. "It's basic." Under proposals backed by GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan and other Republicans, seniors would be given vouchers of a set amount to buy health insurance on the private market. The Mitt Romney campaign says it backs a "premium support" Medicare plan modeled on one used by members of Congress; recipients would choose a health care plan from a menu of approved options, and the government would make payments on their behalf to insurance providers (Jackson, 9/3). 

Politico: Joe Biden Takes Aim At 'Vouchercare'
Wading into Paul Ryan territory, Vice President Joe Biden delivered a blistering critique of the GOP vice presidential nominee's Medicare proposal and warned that the Republican ticket would turn the health care system for seniors into "Vouchercare." As he campaigned in Ryan's home state of Wisconsin on Sunday, Biden hammered Ryan and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney for endorsing a Medicare proposal that would give seniors subsidies to purchase private health care plans. Biden, echoing a common Democratic attack, accused Republicans of wanting to "end the guarantee of Medicare" (Kim, 9/2).

The Associated Press/Fox News: Romney Launches GOP Response At Dem Convention
Mitt Romney's presidential campaign is launching an aggressive Republican response at the site of the Democratic National Convention aimed at stealing attention and driving new questions about President Barack Obama's leadership on the eve of his nomination for a second term. ... Romney, meanwhile, will spend much of the week in New Hampshire and Vermont preparing for three fall debates with Obama, the first on Oct. 3. Ryan will play a more prominent role in day-to-day campaigning during the week (9/3).

Politico: Pelosi Blasts Ryan Medicare Plan At Convention
Nancy Pelosi teed off on Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan's Medicare plan, saying Democrats "created" the senior health care program and "will not let them take it away." In a 25-minute speech to the California Democratic Party delegation, Pelosi said that "nothing less than the character of our country" is on the ballot this November – a familiar refrain from the House minority leader, who is trying to make Republican plans to reshape Medicare a major issue for the fall campaign. ... "It's just plain wrong to privatize, voucherize and end Medicare as we know it" (Sherman, 9/3). 

The Hill: Nancy Pelosi Begins Convention With Attack On Mitt Romney, Republicans
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday began the Democratic National Convention with a wide-ranging attack on Mitt Romney and the Republicans over everything from Medicare and immigration to women's health and gay rights -; themes that will echo loudly this week in the run-up to President Obama's official nomination Thursday (Lillis, 9/3).