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We're keeping our ear on the Sunday talk shows this morning. Obviously the topic of the day is Rep. Paul Ryan, whom the Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has chosen as his running mate.

Both parties have already traded hard shots, but it appears there is agreement that the addition of Ryan, who has led the GOP on matters of budget, focuses this presidential election. It is now focused on a broader narrative about the size and role of government.

We'll update this post with the highlights as the morning progresses:

For a couple of days last month, I ate the same foods as some of the fastest people on the planet — the Kenyans.

I stayed at the same hotel and ate in the same dining room as the Kenya Olympic Marathon team while working on a radio story about how this impoverished nation produces some of the best endurance runners in the world.

At the end of August, the eyes of the political world turn to Tampa, Fla., for the Republican National Convention. It promises to dominate the national and local news in Tampa Bay that week and suck all the political air out of the room.

So if you're the Obama campaign, what do you do? How do you counterprogram Romney-palooza?

Apparently, by buying lots of TV airtime on The Bachelor, Dr. Oz and Rachael Ray.

One thing Republican Mitt Romney's choice of Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate will certainly do is elevate issues like Medicare and Medicaid to the top of the election agenda.

As the nation gets closer to Election Day, Ryan's addition to the GOP ticket will present the public with a dramatic choice about the role the government should play in health care.

One thing the Wisconsin congressman never does is apologize for thinking big.

Ten years ago, Andres Cortez, a chauffeur in Los Angeles, might have been part of the hordes of people dabbling in day trading or haunting the online stock forums. He might have been bragging to his friends about the money he made in tech stocks, or learning how to margin trade at a night school.

Instead, he keeps his distance from stocks.

As he stands by his car and waits for a passenger downtown, Cortez says he has a little money he's put aside and is keeping it in a savings account, where it earns virtually nothing.

Ahmet Abuhamed runs a fish shop in Perama, a town near the port of Piraeus. He sells the day's catch, including sea bream, mackerel, sardines and octopus. A 40-year-old father of four, he moved to Greece 20 years ago from Rosetta, an Egyptian fishing village near Alexandria.

"All the fishermen [in Greece] are Egyptian," he says. "Go to any island in the country and listen to the conversations on the boats. You'll hear names like Alim and Mohammad."

On the last full day of competition in the 2012 Summer Olympics, the athletes are competing in 32 medal events. Many of these athletes are pretty darn fast — making it hard to keep tabs on them. So, here's a rundown of results from this afternoon's events, rolled up into one post:

News that Paul Ryan was chosen as Mitt Romney's running mate had people in his hometown of Janesville, Wis., abuzz Saturday morning. But the strong feelings Ryan provokes elsewhere for and against his policies were also evident.

On her way into the Janesville post office, Corrine Smith has a smile on her face. She and her husband are both big Paul Ryan supporters, and they were thrilled when they heard the news.

Transcript

GUY RAZ, HOST:

It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz.

And as we've been reporting, Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan has joined Mitt Romney on the GOP presidential ticket. The two men launched a multiday, multistate bus tour this morning. They spent much of the day in Virginia where crowds came out to cheer them on, including in Ashland, where Paul Ryan spoke.

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GUY RAZ, HOST:

So what makes Paul Ryan such a bold pick and potentially such a risky one is the detailed budget plan he has now twice passed through the GOP-controlled House. That plan has not passed the Senate, and President Obama says if it reached his desk, he'd veto it. The heart of Ryan's plan calls for dramatic changes to the nation's largest government health programs, Medicare and Medicaid.

With us now to discuss what those changes could mean for the campaign and the country should Romney and Ryan win the race is NPR's Julie Rovner. Julie, hello.

Mitt Romney's newly announced running mate, Paul Ryan, has long subscribed to the objectivist philosophies of novelist Ayn Rand. Host Guy Raz speaks with James Fallows of The Atlantic about how that approach to public policy will play with voters.

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GUY RAZ, HOST:

So now that we know who Mitt Romney's running mate is, what about the keynote speaker at the Republican Convention later this month? No word yet. Democrats have announced that San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro will get that coveted spot that has, in the past, served as a platform for bigger things.

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GUY RAZ, HOST:

It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz.

Transcript

GUY RAZ, HOST:

It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz.

MITT ROMNEY: It's an honor to announce my running mate and the next vice president of the United States, Paul Ryan.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHEERING)

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GUY RAZ, HOST:

Let's go now to Vin Weber, former Minnesota congressman and a senior adviser to Mitt Romney. Vin Weber, thanks for joining us.

VIN WEBER: Great to be with you today.

RAZ: You have known Paul Ryan for a long time, since before he was a member of Congress. How did you know him?

American Brigetta Barrett has won the silver medal in the women's high jump, setting a personal best of 2.03 meters (6 feet 8 inches) to eke out a spot on the podium between two Russian athletes: Anna Chicerova, who jumped 2.05, and Svetlana Shkolina, who tied Barrrett at 2.03 meters.

Barrett, 22, took the silver over Shkolina because she cleared the height on her second attempt, while the Russian managed it on her third try. Neither of them could clear 2.05 to match Chicerova, who came into the games as the reigning world champion.

British runner Mo Farah has won the men's 5,000 meters, sending Olympic Stadium into a frenzy. His time of 13:41.66 barely edged Dejen Gebremeskel of Ethiopia. American Bernard Lagat came in fourth, while Galen Rupp finished seventh.

Farah is now the sixth man in Olympic history to have won both the 5,000m and 10,000m events at the same Summer Games. He emerged at the front of the pack 700 meters from the finish, and held on to stay ahead of Gebremeskel.

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's choice of Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate seems to be uniting both Republicans and Democrats. The GOP is embracing the young, wonky addition to the ticket, while the left seems happy to be taking him on.

Here's a quick look at the pluses and minuses of the decision, from the point of view of the man at the top of the ticket.

PROS:

The Romney campaign launched its first event with Ryan on the ticket in front of an excited crowd of supporters in Norfolk, Va., Saturday morning. If the crowd at the event was any indication, the decision has energized the Republican base.

It's been a big day for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. Romney officially announced his running mate this morning in Virginia. NPR's Ron Elving tells guest host Linda Wertheimer how the pair are starting out.

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

Just as Mr. Ryan is a champion for fiscal conservatives, he's a big target for Democrats. President Obama's campaign wasted no time in attacking Mitt Romney's new running mate.

NPR's Scott Horsley joins us now. So, Scott, the initial response from the Obama campaign?

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

For more on Mr. Romney's choice of a running mate, we're joined in the studio by NPR's Washington editor Ron Elving and NPR's national political correspondent Don Gonyea.

Now, we just heard from congressman Chris Van Hollan of Maryland, who's a Democrat. He told us that the choice that Mr. Romney made tells independent voters to, quote, "take a hike." How do you think that this choice affects independents and undecided voters? You want to start, Ron?

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

For more on the announcement, joining me in the studio are Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne and contributing editor for the Weekly Standard Matthew Continetti. Gentlemen, it's wonderful to see you again.

E.J. DIONNE: Good to see you.

MATTHEW CONTINETTI: Good to see you.

WERTHEIMER: Let's first hear Paul Ryan from an interview with NPR in May of 2012. This was shortly after he released his first budget as chairman of the Budget Committee.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED INTERVIEW)

Transcript

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer. We are following the big political story this hour. Mitt Romney has announced the other half of his ticket, congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. He's been a champion of conservative fiscal principles as chairman of the House Budget Committee. Let's listen to Paul Ryan from an interview with NPR in May of 2012, shortly after he released his first budget.