President Barack Obama's reelection campaign renewed its effort to refocus the debate on a "choice election" with a new television ad Tuesday that highlights how Mitt Romney's plans would impact college affordability and student debt.
And with Paul Ryan's name officially attached to Romney's presidential ticket, the Obama campaign is seeking to emphasize the ways in which Ryan's controversial budget plan would define a Romney presidency.
The Ryan plan, which Romney embraced, includes significant cuts to education, leaving a notable dent in federal student aid and funding for Pell Grants.
The new ad, titled "Get Real," revives a clip of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee telling students to borrow money from their parents, taken from a Romney campaign rally at Otterbein University in central Ohio in April.
"Take a risk, get the education, borrow money if you have to from your parents," Romney says.
The ad then pivots to the effect that Romney's plans would have on students, stating that he would "cut college aid for nearly ten million students and eliminate the tax deduction for college tuition." The narrator closes the ad by telling Romney to "get real."
The ad will air in swing states Colorado, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia.
Although Romney has tried to distance himself from his newly-minted running mate's budget, he has also praised the Ryan plan on numerous occasions and encouraged the Senate to pick it up and "pass it along to the president."
Amanda Henneberg, a spokeswoman for the Romney campaign, responded to the Obama ad with the following statement:
President Obama’s policies have only made the problems of college affordability and student debt worse. Under President Obama, the costs of college have skyrocketed -- making it more difficult for students to attend college -- and his economic policies have made it harder for graduates to get jobs. Mitt Romney will encourage innovation and competition to make college more affordable, and his economic policies will give recent graduates the job opportunities they deserve.
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