Romney ad attacks Obama on Medicare

ZANESVILLE, Ohio—Mitt Romney is out with a new television ad accusing President Barack Obama of cutting Medicare funds to pay for his health care reform law.

'You paid into Medicare for years. Every paycheck," a voiceover says. "Now when you need it, Obama has cut $726 billion dollars from Medicare. Why? To pay for Obamacare."

The 30-second ad vows that Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan, his vice-presidential running mate, would protect Medicare for "today's seniors" and would strengthen the plan "for the next generation."

Romney aides declined to say where the ad is airing or how much it is spending on the spot. But the ad come after days of Democratic attacks over Ryan's budget proposal, which called for an overhaul of Medicare and other entitlement programs.

In a statement, Lis Smith, a spokeswoman for the Obama campaign, called the ad "dishonest and hypocritical."

"The savings his ad attacks do not cut a single guaranteed Medicare benefit, and Mitt Romney embraced the very same savings when he promised he'd sign Paul Ryan's budget," she said. "Because the president is eliminating subsidies to insurance companies and cutting waste and fraud, we've extended the life of Medicare by eight years."