Ryan praises Clinton ahead of former president's DNC address

ADEL, Iowa - Republicans have spent the week comparing President Obama to Jimmy Carter. You can now add another name to the list.

On the day former President Bill Clinton will speak at the Democratic National Convention, Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan was singing his praises -- an attempt to draw a sharp contrast between the Clinton years and the Obama administration.

"We are going to hear from President Clinton tonight in Charlotte," Ryan said during a rally in Adel, Iowa. "My guess is we will get a great rendition of how good things were in the 1990s. But we're not going to hear much about how things have been the last four years."

"And by the way, under President Clinton, we got welfare reform," Ryan added.

"President Obama is rolling back welfare reform. President Clinton worked with Republicans in Congress to have a budget agreement, to cut spending. President Obama -- a gusher of new spending and only demagoguery from those of us who have offered solutions."

The welfare reform law President Clinton signed in 1996 added a work component requiring recipients to find employment within a certain amount of time.

President Obama granted waivers to that work requirement, but at the request of some governors - including Republicans - who were looking for more flexibility in tailoring a program that worked best for their state.

The Obama campaign quickly pounced on Ryan's comments.

"While the congressman has proven his willingness to ignore the truth, even he should know that President Clinton has joined with every independent fact checker, news organization and a Republican architect of welfare reform in calling the welfare attack blatantly false," Obama campaign spokesman Danny Kanner said.