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Rep. Paul Ryan tells Bill Keller that his ideas on Medicare and Social Security are not "the last word" but a way to start an "adult conversation." Keller describes what a Romney administration might look like with Ryan, Dan Senor, and Glenn Hubbard.

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This New York Times editorial describes the impact on lower income Americans of spending cuts that are part of the Romney-Ryan plan.

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Ryan's sunny disposition, willingness to engage in ideas and facts and his message convey a very different image than the one in Democratic party television ads of someone looking like him pushing an old granny off the cliff, says this Journal editorial. Which makes it all the more important that he should be given very opportunity to speak to the media and to the public, it says.

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Stephen Moore says both Paul Ryan and his mentor had a singular grasp of the importance of faster economic growth on the deficit and fiscal problems. Though spending restraint is necessary the key to avoiding a fiscal crisis is economic growth generated by private investment. He says the increased focus by Ryan on spending restraint compared to Kemp reflects the difference between that era and this one, with the deficit much larger now. And not a reflection on Ryan's grasp of problems of the urban poor and struggling working class, something Kemp grasped. The problems are large on the spending side but says Moore this can only be solved by pushing hard for economic growth of 4% as targeted by Romney and Ryan. It is also important says Moore for the Romney-Ryan campaign to emphasize growth as the key message and not having this message lost in a back and forth with the Democrats about Obama's economic failures and voter fears about cuts that lead voters to tune out the conflicting messages....

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Kimberly Strassel says the choice presented in the 2012 presidential election with Romney's pick of Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, is between stagnation and national renewal.

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Rep. Paul Ryan got his start in politics in 1983 when he was hired to work for a think tank Empower America. This think tank was formed by Weber, Kirkpatrick, Bennett and Kemp, to preserve Reagan era ideas of focussing on economic growth generated by private investment. This was followed by working as an aide to Senator Brownback of Kansas and Rep. Jack Kemp till his election to Congress in 1996. Kemp was the big idea guy and it was Paul Ryan who delved into the budget details at the time to support Kemp's ideas. Kemp was Republican vice presidential candidate, the same position that Ryan is in today. Ryan represented the area around Janesville, Wisconsin, in the U.S. Congress. He graduated from the University of Miami, Ohio.

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J.C. Penney sales decreased by 23% to $3.02 billion in the quarter ending July 28, 2012. Internet sales declined by 33%. New CEO Ron Johnson's strategies have failed to produce results so far.

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Fears that the conflict in Syria might spill over and lead to a conflict with Iran pushed up oil prices. At the same time the new forecast by the International Energy Agency in early August 2012 showing a 20% decrease in demand growth in 2013, as a result of the economic slowdown in the U.S., Europe and China, acted to put a lid on oil price increases. Light sweet crude for September delivery was at $92.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on August 10, 2012, and Brent crude was at $112.95 a barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange.

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Rep. Dave Camp, House Ways and Means Committee chairman, representing northern Michigan, says every deduction in the tax code is there because of a reason, and powerful lobbies will oppose any changes. The best he can do is work himself out of this job as he will have to tackle the Democrats on entitlements, the business lobbies on tax loopholes, and other lobbies protecting their preferences in the tax code. He plans to achieve a simpler tax code with lowered rates of 25% for business and earners above six figures, and 10% for everyone else. The approach he is taking is to be revenue neutral when tackling tax reform, in the belief that the economic growth generated from a simpler tax code and lower rates would generate revenues of 18 to 19% of GDP, up from about 16% today. He says the economc cost of not getting this done to get the economy rolling again is so high that he is upbeat that both sides can come together after the election no matter who wins. He is also looking at a repatriation tax of 5% on profits kept by American companies overseas, which would boost revenues for business which could be reinvested in stead of sitting idle. Today the much steeper tax rate on repatriation makes businesses reluctant to bring it back....