OLDSMAR, Fla. -- Former Solicitor General Ted Olson has been tapped to play the role of Vice President Biden in debate preperations for GOP vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan.

A Ryan spokesman confirmed Saturday that Olson has already participated in one practice session this past week.

The high profile attorney has argued 58 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court -- including Bush v. Gore on behalf of the 43rd president.

Olson is also well known for his so-far successful federal court challenge overturning California's Proposition 8, the voter-passed initiative blocking court-ordered gay marriage.

"Mr. Olson is one of the most skilled, intelligent, and successful litigators in America - just the kind of opponent needed to prepare the congressman for Mr. Biden," Ryan spokesman Brendan Buck said.

Olson served as solicitor general in the George W. Bush administration and defended President Reagan during the Iran-Contra scandal. In 2010, Time Magazine selected him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-MD, was picked by the Obama campaign to play the role of Congressman Ryan back in August.

The murder of the U.S. ambassador to Libya is evidence not only of the sacrifices made by American diplomats around the globe but of the struggle for resources constantly faced by America's foreign service, according to former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman.

Huntsman, the former Utah governor who had a short-lived campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, said that the risks and sacrifices of those in the State Department are seldom known.

"The work they do I wish you could show every taxpayer, because they would be completely impressed by what our men and women do behind those walls in those embassies and outside of those walls," said Huntsman in an interview on "Power Play with Chris Stirewalt." "Many of those stories will never be told, but it is extraordinary and it goes right to the heart and soul of protecting America's interests and expanding our position overseas."

Huntsman said that he appreciates the attention and honor paid to the uniformed military, including his two sons who serve in the Navy, but thinks that a lack of focus on the diplomatic corps has left civilian overseas outposts short of resources compared to their military counterparts. (read more)

GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney revealed he's a "Snookie fan" and implied he sleeps with "as little as possible," today during a taped interview with "Live! Kelly and Michael."

Mitt and Ann Romney sat down with the morning show hosts after wrapping up a fundraiser in midtown Manhattan, where he brought in $4 million according to his finance Chair Spencer Zwick.

The interview, which will not air until Monday, began as you would expect addressing topics ranging from the economy, health care and gun control to questions about their five boys and Ann Romney's battle with Multiple Sclerosis.

But near the end, in a segment called "rapid fire response," things got very bizarre.

Romney admitted he likes Snookie's "fire-plug personality" and Ann Romney described how she walked in on George W. Bush getting a massage during a White House visit.

Mrs. Romney said she was "blushing, blushing, blushing" as former President Bush jokingly winked and said "I look pretty good, don't I." (read more)

Former Republican Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman thinks the Romney/Ryan ticket is missing some heart.

In an interview on "Power Play with Chris Stirewalt", Huntsman praised Congressman Paul Ryan for being both smart and articulate, but suggested that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will continue having challenges connecting with average Americans.

"You can only have one Bain analyst on the ticket. You can't have two Bain analysts on the ticket," Huntsman said, referring to the private equity firm once led by Romney. "At some point you need connect with the heart and soul of America. You need to penetrate the soul. They want to feel your words, not just hear them."

Huntsman was impressed with former President Bill Clinton's convention speech, and suggested that someone "with his heart" would have made a good vice-presidential choice.

"I walked away [from Clinton's speech] having learned something about how you bring these issues that are really important and those that the American public really want to hear about into their living rooms in ways that penetrate the soul," Huntsman told Stirewalt. "We have to do more of that."

Huntsman sees an opening for Ryan however to take ownership of the Ryan fiscal plan and sell it to the American people: (read more)

WASHINGTON -- GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan assailed President Obama's foreign policy Friday, as violent anti-American protests spread across North Africa and the Middle East.

"Look across that region today, and what do we see? The slaughter of brave dissidents in Syria. Mobs storming American embassies and consulates. Iran four years closer to gaining a nuclear weapon. Israel, our best ally in the region, treated with indifference bordering on contempt by the Obama administration," Ryan decried during his address at the 'Values Voter Summit' in Washington Friday morning.

"Amid all these threats and dangers, what we do not see is steady, consistent American leadership. In the days ahead, and in the years ahead, American foreign policy needs moral clarity and firmness of purpose," he continued.

"Only by the confident exercise of American influence are evil and violence overcome. That is how we keep problems abroad from becoming crises. That is what keeps the peace. And that is what we will have in a Romney-Ryan administration."

The summit is an annual political conference for social conservatives put on by the Family Research Council.

Ryan's comments here come after a top adviser to Mitt Romney called the Obama Administration's struggle to define Egypt as an ally as "amateur hour." (read more)

Republican candidate Mitt Romney continued his criticism of President Obama's foreign policy today at a fundraiser in New York, claiming he is sending "confusing messages" to the world.

While Romney has tempered the tone of his rhetoric regarding President Obama's perceived folly in handling the situation in Libya, his senior adviser, Former Ambassador Richard Williamson, doubled down.

"There's a pretty compelling story that if you had a President Romney, you'd be in a different situation," Williamson told the Washington Post.

The Obama campaign fired back chiding the Romney campaign for continuing to "shamelessly politicize a sensitive international situation."

The GOP candidate, however, broadened his critique of the President's foreign policy, lambasting Obama for a host of other dealings in the Middle East he views as shortcomings.

Governor Romney criticized the President for a failure to support the protesters in Tehran last year, and slammed the President for granting his first interview as President to an Arabic television station. Governor Romney also called Obama's failure to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu a "troubling decision" (read more)

GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney revealed he's a "Snooki fan" and implied he sleeps with "as little as possible," today during a taped interview for "Live! with Kelly and Michael."

Mitt and Ann Romney sat down with the morning show hosts after wrapping up a fundraiser in midtown Manhattan where he brought in $4 million according to his finance Chair Spencer Zwick.

The interview, which will not air until Monday, began as you would expect addressing topics ranging from the economy, health care and gun control to questions about their five boys and Ann Romney's battle with Multiple Sclerosis.

Then during the "rapid fire response" segment near the end, things rapidly got bizarre.

Romney admitted he likes Snooki's "fire-plug personality" and Ann Romney describes how she walked in on George W. Bush getting a massage during a White House visit.

She explained how when she saw the former president just after she was "blushing, blushing, blushing" as he jokingly winked and said "I look pretty good, don't I."

Romney also offered a glimpse into how he likes to sleep. When asked what he wears to bed, Romney quipped, "I think the best answer is as little as possible."

With uprisings spreading across the Middle East, the timing seemed almost as odd as the content. (read more)

FAIRFAX, Va. -- One day after navigating the deep waters of foreign policy in real time, Mitt Romney tried to get back to his area of expertise -- the economy.

On Wednesday, the Romney campaign locked horns with President Obama over the administration's handling of attacks on U.S. diplomatic posts in Cairo and Benghazi, culminating with the killing of the American ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three members of his staff. Romney criticized the Obama administration for an initial statement he claimed expressed sympathy for those attacking in Cairo, supposedly over an anti-Islam film. In doing so, he endured some withering criticism from journalists, pundits and politicians.

The next day in northern Virginia, Romney touched on foreign policy briefly, saying "the world needs American leadership ... and I intend to be a president that provides" that leadership.

From that point, Romney made a pivot to domestic issues, specifically the economy and jobs. (read more)

It was 5:08 pm on August 2 when a particular Member of Congress approached one of the electronic voting machines in the House chamber. He inserted his voting card, pressed the green button for "aye" and then rushed out the door to board a plane for the August recess.

Back then, that lawmaker was just one of 435.

He returns to Capitol Hill today as the Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States.

Sometime late this afternoon, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) will again dutifully insert his voting card into one of those machines and presumably punch the green key for "aye." Ryan hasn't visited the Capitol since Mitt Romney tapped the Congressman to become his running mate in early August. And Ryan returns to cast a vote on a stopgap spending bill to fund the government past September 30.

And that's about all the Wisconsin Republican is expected to do.

DE PERE, Wis. -- Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan lashed out at the Obama administration Wednesday for carrying out what he calls an anemic foreign policy -- following a pair of devastating attacks overseas that claimed the lives of four Americans.

"If you show weakness, if you show moral equivocation then foreign policy adventurism among our adversaries will increase," Ryan said during a town hall meeting.

"We do not want a world climate where our adversaries are so tempted to test us and our allies are worried about trusting us and that is unfortunately the path that we are on right now, and I'm really worried about that," he added.

His comments come after angry mobs Tuesday stormed the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt -- climbing walls, then ripping down the American flag and replacing it with a black banner used by hard-line Islamist groups.

In a separate assault on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya - U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, Foreign Service Officer Sean Smith and two other were murdered.

"I know all Americans today are shocked and saddened by the news from the Middle East," Ryan said. "The attacks on our diplomatic missions in Egypt and Libya and the loss of four American lives including our Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. This is outrageous. Our hearts are heavy and our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families." (read more)