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Ryan: Romney won't 'duck tough issues' on economy
Click on the video link to watch Paul Ryan's entire speech at the RNC Wednesday night
TAMPA, Fla- Seizing the Republican National Convention spotlight, vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan welcomed "the calling of my generation" to help lead the country in tough times Wednesday night and pledged that Mitt Romney will not duck the difficult decisions needed to repair the economy if he gains the White House this fall.
"After four years of getting the runaround, America needs a turnaround, and the man for the job is Governor Mitt Romney," the 42-year-old Wisconsin lawmaker told cheering delegates in a packed hall and a prime time television audience at home. He spoke at a convention dogged by Tropical Storm Isaac, downgraded from a hurricane but still inflicting misery on millions along the nearby northern Gulf Coast.
"We will not duck the tough issues; we will lead," Ryan said, adding that President Barack Obama and the Democrats "have run out of ideas. Their moment came and went. Fear and division is all they've got left."
Ryan raised the question of what the next four years would look like without a change in leadership.
Ryan says the first signs of trouble under the Obama administration came with an economic stimulus package that led to more debt but didn't fix the economy.
Ryan celebrated his Irish immigrant ancestors and small-town values, offering a personal presentation of a lawmaker largely known for sober policy analysis.
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