Mitt Romney just held a short press availability in Florida and completely dodged the question of which parts of the Ryan budget he disagrees with.

This pursuit of clarity should not be done in a gotcha manner. If Romney-Ryan wants to be known, as they claim they do, as the substance and specificity ticket, Romney and his advisers should spell out calmly, clearly, and completely where he differs from Ryan and why.

Boston probably is hoping that all this blows over and the press corps moves on. In this case, I don’t think that will happen.

Given the Fiscal Cliff, budget choices for the person elected in November are more the whole ball game than in any presidential race I can recall.

The White House and much of the media are going to stay on this issue for a good long time. Instead of playing rope-a-dope, Romney should stand and answer.

If he can’t or won’t, he’s got bigger problems than he gamed out when he made this pick.