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In the southern US state of Florida, senior citizens who make up 25 percent of the electorate are greatly concerned with the expanding costs of Medicare, the government health insurance program for the elderly. Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney have been competing for the support of those over 65. But solutions proposed by the candidates are reinforcing the existing ideological divide between the parties - and not winning more votes. The Republican Party's 2008 presidential candidate, Senator John McCain, has been campaigning for Mitt Romney in southern Florida. He says new leadership is needed to reduce the more than one-trillion-dollar federal deficit. “We have mortgaged our children, our grand-children's futures and there is now a debt of $51,000 per every man, woman and child in America. We cannot stand that," he said. Republican deficit reduction plans rely heavily on cutting government spending. Vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan once proposed cutting $716 billion from Medicare, but the Republican candidates say they will protect benefits for today's seniors and strengthen the plan for the next generation. Many Republican seniors in Florida, like Larry Stoltenberg, support reducing benefits for current recipients. “We have got to do something as a nation. I have got three sons and two grandchildren. I do not expect to see them $100,000 or $200,000 in debt because we decided that we want to give free medical care to everybody in the world. I do not think that is right," he said. | 
