On Saturday, Mitt Romney announced that his vice president running mate would be Paul Ryan.

Now, finally, we can debate real issues and not listen to schoolyard fights about petty and manufactured issues like Romney’s tax returns and whether he killed a woman whose husband lost his job. Both charges are slimy politics.

The Democrats should be ashamed of themselves. Unfortunately for them, they cannot defend Obama’s term as president so that’s all that’s left.

With Paul Ryan, Democrats will charge that he lusts after the demise of Medicare and Social Security. Has anybody noticed there is no Democratic plan to save either?

Medicare will go bankrupt in 12 years and Social Security by about 2040.

Maybe Democrats should attempt to lead by giving us their plan before they make wild charges against Romney and Ryan.

Michael L. Waldron

Niles