Mitt Romney raps President Barack Obama for attacks on GOP tax plans

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama on Monday of distorting the GOP ticket's tax policies, continuing the presidential campaign's sharply personal tone.

"It seems that the first victim of an Obama campaign is the truth," Romney told about 3,000 people at an outdoor rally in Manchester, N.H.

Asked by a woman about Obama campaign "lies" that claim the GOP ticket would raise taxes, Romney said, "All we've heard so far is one attack after another." He said perhaps only one of the Democrats' many TV ads is "honest."

"I will not raise taxes on anyone," Romney said. "Mr. President, stop saying something that's not the truth."

Obama says Romney's bid to cut taxes on capital gains and other means of income would shift the overall tax burden toward middle-income Americans.

Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, also blasted Obama's Medicare plan, even though a central element of that plan once was embraced by Ryan.

"Medicare should not be a piggy bank for Obamacare," Ryan told crowd, where he joined Romney for the first time in a week.

The two men criticized Obama's plan to reduce Medicare's projected growth by $716 billion over 10 years. Obama says the savings would come from reduced payments to -- and greater efficiency by -- health care providers.

Romney and Ryan denounced the plan as a cut to necessary Medicare benefits, even though Ryan also backed the $716 billion reduction before joining the GOP ticket.

Romney says his proposal to offer a private alternative to Medicare would not affect anyone over age 55. Some 14 percent of New Hampshire residents are over the age of 65, and this state, which holds the nation's first presidential primary, is known for its voters' sharp questioning of candidates during such town hall-style events.

A crowd of about 3,000 — many waving Romney-Ryan signs and American flags — greeted the Republican duo for the outdoor event on the quad at St. Anselm College. Romney said the event was his 100th town hall since beginning his run for the White House more than a year ago.

Obama spent Saturday in New Hampshire, casting doubts on what the GOP ticket would do for older voters.

"You would think they would avoid talking about Medicare, given the fact that both of them have proposed to voucherize the Medicare system," he said Saturday in Windham. "But I guess they figure the best defense is to try to go on offense.

"So, New Hampshire, here is what you need to know: Since I have been in office, I have strengthened Medicare."

Obama's top aides spent Sunday repeating the claim in television interviews that the GOP would gut Medicare, while Romney's aides spent their day trying to convince voters of the opposite.

Ryan's proposal in Congress worries some seniors. His Medicare plan would encourage future retirees to consider private coverage that the government would help pay for through a voucher-like system, while keeping the traditional program as an option. A main concern that has been raised about that approach is that the government payment for health insurance won't keep pace with health care inflation, shifting an ever-growing share of costs to people on fixed incomes.

A deficit hawk and the House Republicans' chief budget writer, Ryan has stood out in Washington for laying out tough spending choices that many lawmakers in both parties avoid.

So it was almost inevitable that his selection as Romney's running mate would vault Medicare to the top of the campaign debate, even though any talk about changing the popular but costly program is typically avoided by presidential candidates.