Listen Live
Donate
 on air
    Schedule

    KCRW

    Read & Explore

    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Food
    • Culture
    • Events

    Listen

    • Live Radio
    • Music
    • Podcasts
    • Full Schedule

    Information

    • About
    • Careers
    • Help / FAQ
    • Newsletters
    • Contact

    Support

    • Become a Member
    • Become a VIP
    • Ways to Give
    • Shop
    • Member Perks

    Become a Member

    Donate to KCRW to support this cultural hub for music discovery, in-depth journalism, community storytelling, and free events. You'll become a KCRW Member and get a year of exclusive benefits.

    DonateGive Monthly

    Copyright 2026 KCRW. All rights reserved.

    Report a Bug|Privacy Policy|Terms of Service|
    Cookie Policy
    |FCC Public Files|

    Back to Left, Right & Center

    Left, Right & Center

    The Thirteen Percent Solution?

    With the Paul Ryan pick, does Romney get a deficit-hawking, fiscally disciplined conservative? A cold-hearted, shrink-government-at-all-costs ideologue? Both?

    • rss
    • apple-podcasts
    • spotify
    • Share
    By Matt Miller • Aug 17, 2012 • 29m Listen

    With his selection of Paul Ryan for a running mate, Mitt Romney changed the subject away from his taxes, right? Umm. Well, at least no more jokes about that family vacation, when he drove with the family dog on the roof of the family car, right? Uhhh. The Ryan pick actually did the change the subject; this week the candidates' competing visions for the future of Medicare eclipsed most of their other competing visions, and Romney did throw a bone to his income tax inquisitors, telling reporters on the tarmac at a South Carolina campaign stop that he'd paid at least 13 percent of his income in taxes the past ten years. So, that settles it. Right? Umm.

    Joining Matt Miller this week on the Left is former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, sitting in for Robert Scheer, who’s away one more week. On the Right, James Glassman, Executive Director of the George W. Bush Institute at George W. Bush Presidential Center.

    Banner image: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney (R) stands with Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) after Romney introduced Ryan as his vice-presidential running mate during a campaign event in Norfolk, Virginia August 11, 2012. Photo: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Matt Miller

      Co-host, 'Left, Right & Center'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Eliot Spitzer

      former Governor of New York

    • KCRW placeholder

      James Glassman

      George W. Bush Institute

    • KCRW placeholder

      Jacob Conrad

      Story Editor, 'UnFictional'

      NewsPolitics
    Back to Left, Right & Center