Ryan: Romney won’t duck economic issues

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 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 Wisconsin lawmaker declared in remarks prepared for delivery to the delegates. 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.

In a secondary role if only for a moment, Romney accused President Barack Obama of backing “reckless defense cuts” amounting to $1 trillion.

Addressing the American Legion in Indianapolis, he said, “There are plenty of places to cut in a federal budget that now totals over $3 trillion. But defense is not one of them.”

In Tampa, the Romney team scripted an economy-and-veterans-theme program and kept a wary eye on Isaac. The storm remained a threat to south Louisiana almost exactly seven years after the calamitous Hurricane Katrina.

Inside the convention hall, delegates cheered a parade of party leaders past, present and — possibly — future.

The presidents Bush, George H.W., elected in 1988, and his son, George W., winner in 2000 and 2004, were featured in an evocative video. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the party’s 2008 nominee, spoke on his 76th birthday and said he wished he’d been there under different circumstances.

An array of younger elected officials preceded Ryan to the podium, Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and John Thune, R-S.D., among them.

Ryan said in excerpts released in advance he was accepting “the calling of my generation to give our children the America that was given to us.”

“The present administration has made its choices,” he said. “And Mitt Romney and I have made ours: Before the math and the momentum overwhelm us all, we are going to solve this nation’s economic problems.

“And I’m going to level with you: We don’t have much time.”

As he spoke, a pair of electronic boards tallied the nation’s growing national debt, approaching $16 trillion overall and up more than $5 billion since the convention opened.

Ryan’s vice presidential acceptance speech marked a prime-time national debut by a relatively young lawmaker lauded by fellow Republicans for his understanding of the complexities of the nation’s budget.

Romney tapped Ryan, 42, this month as his running mate, a selection that cheered conservatives who doubted the presidential candidate’s own commitment to their cause.

If Ryan’s selection was in part to appeal to conservatives, the convention was scripted to strengthen the ticket’s appeals among women,

Hispanics and others who prefer Obama over the Republicans, as well as veterans who supported McCain in 2008.

Romney delivers his own televised acceptance speech Thursday night in the final act of his own convention. The political attention then shifts to the Democrats, who open their own convention Tuesday to nominate Obama and Vice President Joe Biden for a second term.

Despite the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on television commercials by the candidates, their parties and supporting groups, the race has appeared unusually close since Romney clinched his nomination last spring.

Only eight or so battleground states appear to be competitive, although Republicans say they hope to expand the campaign after Labor Day, particularly in industrial states struggling to recover from the worst economic recession since the Great Depression.

As chairman of the House Budget Committee, Ryan is the architect of a plan to curb long-term deficits by reducing taxes and making deep cuts in accounts ranging from farm programs to education. He also advocates saving billions by remaking Medicare and Medicaid, the government’s health care programs for seniors and the poor.

The Medicare changes are potentially incendiary in an election campaign.

Democrats say Romney, with his selection of Ryan, has accepted political ownership of a plan that would turn the program from one in which seniors’ medical bills are automatically paid into one in which the government would give them checks to purchase coverage at costs that would require them to dip deeper into their pockets.