The Note's Must-Reads are a round-up of today's political headlines and stories from ABC News and the top U.S. newspapers. Posted Monday through Friday right here at www.abcnews.com

Compiled by ABC News' Carrie Halperin, Amanda VanAllen and Will Cantine

ROMNEY/RYAN BUDGET

ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf: " Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan Defend Changing Medicare" Rep. Paul Ryan, chosen this weekend to be Mitt Romney's running mate, responded today to Democrats who say his proposals to balance the budget would jeopardize Medicare for younger Americans by making it a more market-based program. LINK

The Hill's Bernie Becker: " Romney says he's running on his budget framework, not on Ryan's" Mitt Romney made it clear Sunday: The new Republican ticket will be running on his budget framework - not the more famous vision crafted by his new running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, has long praised the budgets Ryan has spearheaded as chairman of the House Budget Committee, and has even said he would have signed the GOP budget into law. LINK

New York Daily News' Douglas Feiden: " Fight over Medicare benefits takes center stage as Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan appear on '60 Minutes'" President Obama wasted no time in branding Rep. Paul Ryan the "ideological leader" of the GOP Sunday - as Mitt Romney carefully created daylight between his agenda and his running mate's budget plan. Romney, who said during the primaries that Ryan's take-no-prisoners approach to deficit cutting was "very much needed," made it clear he'd advance his own budget blueprint once in the Oval Office. LINK

The Washington Post's Felicia Sonmez: " Romney camp on Ryan budget: Romney's in charge" In the city where President Obama will accept his party's nomination in less than a month's time, the Romney campaign Sunday morning had a message for Democrats seeking to cast the presumptive GOP nominee as falling in lockstep with Paul Ryan when it comes to the federal budget: Romney is the man in charge."The thing you have to remember about these campaigns is that Gov. Romney is at the top of the ticket," Romney senior adviser Kevin Madden told reporters Sunday morning when asked how the campaign expects to fit the Ryan budget blueprint into its message. LINK

The Washington Times' Valerie Richardson: " Democrats slam Ryan as threat to social safety net" Democrats said Sunday that Mitt Romney, by picking Rep. Paul Ryan to fill out his presidential ticket, has set up this year's election as a referendum on the deep cuts to the social safety net that the GOP's top budget man says are needed to fix federal finances. In picking Mr. Ryan, Mr. Romney has turned what had been a dizzyingly petty election into a choice between two widely diverging views of the size, scope and powers of the government. LINK

ROMNEY/RYAN

ABC News' Jonathan Karl: " How Romney Kept Paul Ryan's Pick For VP A Secret" Clandestine flights. A slight disguise. Long drives to out-of-the-way airports by an aide's 19-year-old son. An afternoon dash through the wooded ravine behind Paul Ryan's house in Janesville, Wis. These were just some of the things the Mitt Romney campaign did to keep the world from knowing the presumptive Republican presidential nominee had decided to pick Ryan as his running mate. LINK

The Wall Street Journal's Kristina Peterson: " Questions Linger After Romney-Ryan Interview" Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his newly tapped running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, showed an easy camaraderie in their first joint interview Sunday night on CBS' "60 Minutes." But the polished pair left a handful of big questions up in the air during their appearance at a High Point, N.C., furniture factory. LINK

USA Today's Chuck Raasch and Jackie Kucinich: " Romney-Ryan Ticket Opens The GOP's Door To Younger Voters" At 42, Paul Ryan is the first national candidate clearly on the GenX side of the generational line, closer in age to teen Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas than he is to 69-year-old Joe Biden, the man Ryan wants to replace as vice president. LINK

The New York Times' Jeff Zeleny: " Both Sides Focus on the Republican Ticket's New Face" Democrats moved aggressively on Sunday to wrap Mitt Romney in the politically charged details of budget-cutting proposals championed by his new running mate, Representative Paul Ryan, as Mr. Romney sought to capitalize on conservative enthusiasm for his choice without having to defend every element of Mr. Ryan's positions. In North Carolina and at an evening rally in Wisconsin, Mr. Romney praised his running mate for conservative vision and courage. LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Seema Mehta: " Romney-Ryan ticket gets hero's welcome in Wisconsin" Paul D. Ryan returned to his native state Sunday to enjoy an exuberant and emotional homecoming as the new Republican vice presidential pick - a man who was born and raised in Wisconsin, has represented it in Congress for seven terms and hopes to flip it into the GOP column in November. Thousands of supporters roared when Ryan and the man who selected him, unofficial Republican nominee Mitt Romney, walked off a campaign bus as soaring music played in the background. Ryan wiped tears from his eyes as he took the stage. LINK

PRESIDENT OBAMA

The Wall Street Journal's Damian Paletta: " Details Of President Obama's Deficit-Reduction Plans Have Varied" President Barack Obama has offered several proposals in the past 18 months to reduce federal deficits through a combination of tax increases on the wealthy, the removal of certain tax breaks for businesses and spending cuts across a number of government programs. LINK

USA Today's David Jackson: " Obama: Ryan Is GOP 'Ideological Leader'" In his first public comments on the new Republican vice presidential candidate, President Obama Sunday described Paul Ryan as the "ideological leader" of the Republican Party. LINK

Politico's Jennifer Epstein: " Obama camp: 1,000 attended 'half-full' fundraiser" Republicans quickly jumped on a report that President Obama's largest fundraiser here Sunday was only "half full," but the crowd for the event was larger than the Obama campaign had initially anticipated. "At Obama fundraiser in Chicago. Admission only $51, but room is half full," New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor wrote on Twitter. LINK

Bloomberg's Margaret Talev: " Obama Seeks to Rekindle Faded Iowa Magic on 3-Day Tour" President Barack Obama often says Iowa holds a special place in his heart. Iowans in 2008 lifted him from underdog presidential hopeful to caucus winner and gave him 54 percent of the vote in the general election. He begins a three-day bus tour through the state today on less sure footing. LINK

ABC NEWS VIDEO

" Roundtable I: Romney's VP Pick" (VIDEO) " Mitt Romney Selects Paul Ryan As Running Mate" (VIDEO) " Paul Ryan 'Deeply Honored' To Join Mitt Romney As Running Mate" (VIDEO)

BOOKMARKS

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