Romney aide says vote is still about Obama

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Presumptive U.S. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will continue to target President Obama's record, a senior campaign adviser said Sunday.

Ed Gillespie told CNN's "State of the Union" the selection of Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., was a forward-looking move, but voters will also be looking at the past four years when they decide whether to elect Obama to a second term.

"Any presidential election where you have an incumbent president seeking re-election is partly a referendum, it's about performance," said Gillespie. "Obviously the country has concerns about the record run of unemployment above 8 percent, about falling incomes, about our debt being downgraded and the massive debt."

Gillespie said Romney and Ryan were basically cut from the same cloth in terms of fiscal philosophy and in agreement for the need for significant changes not only on entitlements but overall government spending. "One of the reasons that he chose Paul Ryan was for Congressman Ryan's willingness to put forward innovative solutions in a budget," Gillespie said.