suggestion that economic conditions cause people to become "bitter" and "cling to guns or religion."

"And there must be something about San Francisco and [Obama]," Palin told a crowd in Ohio. "Because it’s like I heard on Fox News today, it’s like a truth serum, where when he’s there he seems to be more candid. Remember it was there that he talking about, there you go, the bitter clingers. The cling-ons, all of us, I guess, hanging on to religion and guns."

Ryan's focus on social issues comes at a time when he is taking heat for his connections to Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO), who recently apologized for the suggestion that women could not get pregnant from "legitimate" rape. Both men had co-sponsored a bill that critics say would have redefined rape by allowing only victims of so-called “forcible rape” to qualify for federally funded abortions.