this is an abc news special. >> the next vice president of the united states, paul ryan. >> these last few weeks, he's been catapulted into the national spotlight. >> we have a big choice to make. this is our moment. >> but now, tonight, vp hopeful paul ryan faces husba s his big audience. >> with your help together, we'll get this country back on track. >> so, what will he say? how will he do? this is the republican national convention. it's your voice, your vote. now, reporting live from the tampa bay times forum in tampa, florida, tdiane sawyer and geore stephanopoulos. >> good evening and welcome to the republican national convention, day two. 69 days now from your ice, v your vote. tonight, it is paul ryan, his turn on center stage.

and 22 million people watched last night. so, a lot of people will be paying attention. it is a big test. he's 42 years old and, yet another new generation joins the major ticket. >> just like four years ago when sarah palin burst onto the scene, she electrified the convention four years ago. we're going to talk about it and analyze it all with our powerhouse team. here in the studio, george will, donna brazile and matthew dowd. >> but as we come on the air out for abc news across the gulf coast because tropical storm isaac is still pummeling the area. families are being plucked from roof tops. there are reports of tornadoes. and this is the seven-year anniversary of hurricane katrina, still so much on everyone's mind. abc's sam champion isn new orleans with the latest on what's happening right there. sam? >> reporter: good evening,

diane. developing tonight, just terrible flooding in the state of louisiana. la plasse, louisiana, 200 people have been rescued from five feet of water. the worst flooding in five years. the fear, there may be thousands more that need evacuating. look at the pictures from evacuations from earlier today in plaquemines parish. about 100 people were rescued from that area. officials say they have gotten everybody in that region that needed their help. pictures from mississippi. louisiana not the only state to get that strong storm surge and the constant rain from this storm. they got both of them, as well. so, there's flooding in that state. but let's show you the map of what's to come from isaac, now as it continues to weaken and move inland. look at how far the path of this storm will take this tropical moisture into the country. yes, it will pass areas that need rain. hard to believe by monday afternoon, what's left of this

storm could be sitting in the center of ohio, diane. that's how long we have to travel with this storm. >> all right, sam champion reporting in on behalf of the whole team out there tonight. and, of course, you can go online and check minute by minute what's happening, george. >> what's happening right now, we see condoleezza rice, secretary of state under george w. bush. one of the few bush administration officials speaking in a prime space in this convention. and she's taking on president obama for his failure to lead, in her opinion. >> and i know, too, i know, too, that there is a weariness. i know that it feels as if we have carried these burdens long enough. but we can only know that there is no choice, because one of two things will happen if we don't lead. either no one will lead and there will be chaos or someone

will fill the vacuum who does not share our values. my fellow americans, we do not have a choice. we cannot be reluctant to lead and you cannot lead from behind. [ cheers and applause ] mitt romney and paul ryan understand this reality. our well-being at home and our leadership abroad are linked. they know what to do. they know that our friends -- >> and, you know, that phrase lead from behind, that was used by an obama administration official to describe the president's foreign policy. >> in one of these human moments, we're told that

occasionally the prompter goes off on stage and condoleezza rice has been speaking entirely from notes. and speaki ining spontaneously there. i was here all afternoon and we were talking earlier, george, there seemed to be a hunger in this crowd to hear more about those eight-year-old years of bush. we have only heard his name a couple of times -- >> jeb bush will speak tomorrow. >> he will be speaking tomorrow night. >> earlier today, there was a moment in which everybody grew silent with attention, and that was when they played a videotape. in that tape, the first lady, former first ladies, laura bush and barbara bush, talked about their hutz husbands and then wd from the two former presidents. >> i think people will remember george for having this determination and a toughness and a persistence to be able to see us through, in our country, through such a very difficult time.

after the terrorist attack. i'm so proud of george. >> dad and i both know what it takes to be president. and there's no doubt in our minds that mitt romney will be a great president. >> he's a good man. >> nobody's ever been as lucky as oo. i want people to remember him as courageous -- i want them to remember him as he is. >> boy, that did bring the crowd to its feet. the crowd, also brought to its feet with a little more red meat than they've gotten this far. ridicule from some of the speakers of president obama. one of the harshest and maybe . here's what he had to say about the president, just a few minutes ago. >> well, sorry, mr. president, but you're out of time and we're out of money. [ cheers and applause ]

barack obama's failed us. but look -- it's understandable. a lot of people fail at their first job. >> that sort of echoes back to the attacks that were made against president obama at this convention four years ago, saying he had no experience. he came in first job, just did not work. matthew dowd, we're going to see a lot more of that in the next 69 days. >> absolutely. i think what we're looking for is basically two things to go forward. we need more energy. i think they need to take a brush fire tonight and build it into a bonfire on behalf of mitt romney, by the time tomorrow night. and the other thing i think paul ryan needs to do is make a broad argument about what their philosophy of governing is and tie fiscal issues and the budget to the economy. i think he has to tie those things, entitlements he's been talking about, to a broader

argument about the philosophy of government and the economy. >> what about that, george will, medicare, our polling has shown 2 to 1, people say they do not want to change the medicare system, however much you reform it, they don't want to change it. will he address it tonight? should he? >> well, he comes in with the knowledge that the "washington post"/abc poll today shows a three-point advantage for the romney/ryan ticket on handling medicare. he also knows that he has the challenge of communicating basic facts to a continental nation. the romney/ryan plan wouldn't take hold until the 23rd year of this century. if you still want to keep medicare, you can keep it. now, the question is, will he want to address technicalities like this heat t moment when he has the biggested a against he'll have all year? >> and the romney team is saying the answer to that is no. what we're going to see from him, him telling his own story.

a character witness for mitt romney, and drawing out the differences, broad differences on policy. donna, i know you talk to a lot of democrats in the white house. what did they make of last night overall, this attempt to reintroduce mitt romney at that convention? >> i think they thoughty and large ann romney did a great job, in opening up that playbook. but on the other hand, heard from chris christie and it was me, me, me. they don't understand why he was chosen to give the keynote speech. it was a good introduction by ann romney, but it fell flat with chris christie. >> you are hearing the same thing? >> that's true. it took him, the text i had, 4 1/2 pages long, the top of page 4 before he got to mitt romney's name. he seemed to be running for president of new jersey. >> what about heading into tonight, matt dowd, after last night? >> well, last night, when you look at the conventions in total, last night is like an

appetizer. now they start getting the main entree about it. last night, you felt better about ann romney and people in new jersey felt better about chris christie. i don't think they moved their opinion on mitt romney. >> but david muir, t romney campaign saying they were happy with christie's speech? >> reporter: they are happy, george. i talked with the head of the campaign. he said the nerves that we talked about with ann romney, she admitted it herself, were very real. in fact, i learned that the governor was behind the stage during her speech 24 hours ago and one adviser telling me it was the most nervous he had ever seen the governor when his wife was called out onto that stage. we saw him come out and embrace her a short time later when she was done and give her a kiss. but they were extraordinarily happy with ann romney's p performan performance. they are convinced it will help them with women across this country. i will tell you that ann romney is sitting in the v.i.p. box, where condoleezza rice was last

night watching ann romney on the stage. wanted to talk to you about the imagery here. something that's notable. they are not shying away from the bush administration here tonight. there are images behind condoleezza rice during her time as secretary of state. as you know, george and diane, there was a lot of talk after that republican retreat, that fund-raiser in park city, utah, that condoleezza rice might be the choice for vice president. some concerns that she described herself as mildly pro-choice in the past. she would be too connected to the bush administration to be the selection. we know he's picked paul ryan and he will be here this evening, telling his story to the american people. much like ann romney introduced herself last night. tonight, it's paul ryan's turn. >> okay, david. let's go to jonathan karl who has been covering paul ryan. lot more excitement, it seems to me, on the floor right now. everything seems to be louder, quicker, bigger? >> reporter: no doubt, diane. and we're in the wisconsin delegation right now. if you look over here, we've got

a guy with a cheesehead. i tell you, when ryan comes out, this place will go nuts. wisconsin has been a state that's been very good to democrats on presidential level and they think romney/ryan has a chance to win it for the republicans this time around. ryan has been working on this speech with a team of top speech writers, two veterans of the bush white house. john mcconnell and matthew scully, who wrote the speeches after september 11th for president bush. and what i'm being told, this is going to be an optimistic speech. they say his approach will be smiling. he will be critical of the president, drawing contrast, but he will refer to him as the president of the united states. this will be a respectful speech, not a disparaging one, i'm told. and, as you can see, you mentioned the enthusiasm, that for condoleezza rice. one other note, paul ryan's mother is in the v.i.p. box, watching, as well. back to you. >> all right, thank you, jon. and, we're going to take a short

break. when we come back, though, one of the preeminent news anchors in this country, from our partner at univision will be here, and, also, another moment today, you and i both paused, george, because there was a color guard that entered the stage and they were service members injured in battle. their legs had been amputated, but they were there to present the colors. and they are the amputee veterans of america support team.

abc news live coverage of the republican national convention. once again, diane sawyer and george stephanopoulos. >> and, welcome back to day two of the republican national convention. we are waiting paul ryan's speech tonight. i wanted to let everyone know that we have word that governor romney is now talking with the governors in the states affected by tropical storm isaac and is considering making a trip to the

region soon. we don't know if that would be before his speech tomorrow or if it will happen, but he is in touch with them. and you heard earlier from sam champion that the situation in a lot of those communities is dire. >> so many states affected. right now on the podium, governor susana martinez from new mexico. she addressed the convention in spanish just a few moments ago. and trying to get more hispanic votes. such a major challenge for governor romney right now. he's well behind president obama, it would be very difficult for him to win. i want to go to jorge ramos from univision. we expect to hear from susana martinez, from senator rubio, marco rubio tomorrow night, that the economic vision will be how he draws the hispanic voters in. >> the last poll that i saw, they don't even get 30% of the hispanic vote. they can get 35%, 40%, they're

going to lose the election. the new rule in american politics is that if you can get the hispanic vote, you cannot -- >> and again, john mccain got 31%? >> only 31%. so, the magic number is 33%. if they insist on this message of romney rejects immigration reform, rejects the dream act, and we have to remember, there was republicans who approved the programs in arizona, alabama and georgia, they have to stay on economics. but if they go on immigration, they are really going -- >> you gave us an idea of the percentage, but it's important in states like florida and new mexico. >> yeah, and colorado is also really important. but at the end, it's just a matter of a few numbers. latinos might decide this election, and in very close elections, latinos will decide who wins. and, again, i think republicans have a real, real challenge, trying to get a latino, because

just a few words in spanish from susana martinez is not enough. >> when mitt romney takes the stage tomorrow night, if he has two sentences to try to approve to the hispanic vote, what can it be? >> he has to avoid immigration. if he says the word self-deportation, that's it for him. >> weigh in on this, matt. >> i think that's been the problem. we understood this. we had to hit a certain percentage. every election, it has to increase, because the hispanic vote is the fastest growing vote in this country and it's the most powerful vote in the future in politics. >> well, we'll be watching tonight and tomorrow night. we're going to take a break right now, because it is countdown to paul ryan. he is here with his family tonight and, again, he will be on the main stage and a lot of people around this country are going to be watching to see him for the first time on the national stage in this way. we'll be back.

when a life is saved, when heartbreak turns to hope, you're there through the american red cross. use this moment to join us today. visit redcross.org.

and we are back here on the second night of the republican convention, it will be the vice presidential nominee's night, paul ryan. in a few minutes, he will take the stage. 42 years old, member of congress. >> someone always steals the show at a convention. a lot of people are wondering, calling in the olympian speech writers tonight, if he'll be the one to do that.

want to point out again, 42 years old. he's a new generation, sort of the reagan generation, as he was growing up. a little bit between the gen-x and barack obama. >> he's been the powerhouse in the house of representatives. adopting his budget. that is a budget the democrats have taken aim at. >> a 42-year-old congressman from southeastern wisconsin is indisputably the tone-setter and agenda definer of the republican party. second, never in my memory, at least, has the top of the ticket so thoroughly and instantly defined himself by the choice of the bottom of the ticket. and third, there's an enormous gamble under way and that is, not that they can persuade the american people to do this or that. the gamble is, they're asking the american people, do you really mean what you say about limited government? do you mean what you say about less government? >> which is why, on the day that paul ryan was picked, not only

conservatives were happy, but democrats and liberals very excited, as well. >> he defines the modern republican party, a party that really led our country back to record deficit. paul ryan rubber stamped many of those policies and now paul ryan is the crusader to try to bring us back to fiscal balance. the problem is, democrats believe the math simply doesn't add up. >> he's been called the intellectual leader of the tea party in the house. i want to go to cokie roberts, she's right by the side of the stage. weigh in on this night? >> well, this is a very interesting choice, as it's been said. a young, intellectual man. but i think that he has passed the first test already, because often what happens with these vice presidential picks is that the political world has a reaction to them. and the political world's reaction to paul ryan has been

very positive. he is a credible candidate to the -- people can imagine as the president of the united states. that wasn't true with dan quayle, for instance, in 1988, when the world of politics really didn't see him, knew him well in washington, and did not ink he was presidential mber. and it certainly became untrue with sarah palin, pretty quickly, after this nomination four years ago, after the initial excitement about it. i think with paul ryan, it's a much more solid choice. i think his job tonight is to show the rest of the country what the political world thinks of him already and to not be scary. that is most important job and that's a pretty easy job for a nice guy as he is, to not come across as a scary human being in the way that the democratic have been portraying him. >> because, matthew dowd, for so

many people, cokie points out, he's well known, but a good quarter of the american public really has no idea who he is. this is going to be his first introduction. >> this is the first time most americans in the country will ever even see him or hear from him, the first time ever, it's really important. what i want to say is, presidential candidates have made bad picks and they've won and they've made good picks and they've lost. so, sometimes in the end, it's about what argument you're making and that's what we have to hear from paul ripyan. >> he reinforces the argument that mitt romney wants to make. >> let's tk about his biography. at the age of 16, h fnd that his father was theren the home, had died of a heart attack and, in fact, several male members of his family died young of a heart attack. and jon karl has been saying all along that it made him know that the clock was ticking, time was running out. let's go to this video, right now, introducing paul ryan.

>> his word is good. he understands the fiscal challenges facing america and the fiscalcatastrophe that awaits us if we don't change course. today is a good day for america and there are better days ahead. >> when i look at all he's done, his life, his wife, his family, i'm just so proud. i know his father would be, as well. especially tonight. >> i am so proud to introduce my husband, the next vice president of the united states, paul ryan. [ cheers and applause ] >> hello, everybody! hello, everybody! thank you. thank you. thank you very much.

thank you. hey, wisconsin. thank you. [ cheers and applause ] thank you. [ cheers and applause ] >> you guys are great. thank you so much. thank you. mr. chairman, delegates and fellow citizens, i am honored by the support of this convention for vice president of the united states. [ cheers and applause ] i accept the duty to help lead

our nation out of a job's crisis and back to prosperity. and i know we can do this. i accept the calling of my generation to give our children the america that was given to us, with opportunity for the young and security for the old. and i know that we are ready. our nominee is sure ready. his whole life -- his whole life prepared him for this moment. to meeterious challenges in a serious way. without excuses and idle words. after four years of getting the run around, america needs a turnaround, and the man for the job is governor mitt romney. [ cheers and applause ]

i'm the newcomer to this campaign. so, let me share a first impression. i have never seen opponents so silent about their record and so desperate to keep their power. they've run out of ideas. their moment came and went. fear and division is all they've got left. with all their attack ads, the president is just throwing away money. and he's pretty experienced at that. [ cheers and applause ] you see, some people can't be dragged down by the usual cheap tact tactics, because their character, ability and plain

decency are so obvious. and ladies and gentlemen, that is mitt romney. [ applause ] for my part, your nomination is an unexpected turn. it certainly came as news to my family. and i'd like you to meet them. my best friend and wife, jana, our daughter liza, and our boys charlie and sam. [ cheers and applause ] the kids are happy to see their grandma, who lives in florida. there she is, my mom, betty.

[ applause ] my dad, a small-town lawyer, was also named paul. until we lost him when i was 16, he was a gentle presence in my life. i'd like to think he'd be proud of me and my sister and brothers. you know what? i'm sure proud of him and where i come from, wisconsin. i live on the same block where i grew up. we belong to the same parish where i was baptized. wisconsin is that kind of place. the people of wisconsin have been good to me. i've tried to live up to their trust and now, i ask those

hard-working men and women and millions like them across america to join our cause and get this country working again. when governor romney asked me to join the ticket, i said, "let's get this done." and that is exactly what we are going to do. [ applause ] president barack obama came to office during an economic crisis, as he has reminded us a time or two. those are very tough days. and any fair measure of his record has to take that into account. my home state voted for president obama. when he talked about change,

many people liked the sound of it. especially in my hometown, where we were about to lose a major factory. a lot of guys i went to high school with worked at that gm plant. right there at that plant, candidate obama said, "i believe that if our government is there to support you, this plant will be here for another 100 years." that's what he said in 2008. well, as it turned out, that plant didn't last another year. it is locked up and empty to this day. and that's how it is in so many towns, where the recovery that was promised is nowhere in sight. right now, 23 million men and women are struggling to find work. 23 million people, unemployed or underempl underemployed. nearly 1 in 6 americans is in

poverty. millions of young americans have graduated from college during the obama presidency. ready to use their gifts and get moving in life. half of them can't find the work they studied for or any work at all. so, here's the question. without a change in leadership, why would the next four years be any different from the last four years? [ applause ] the first troubling sign came with the stimulus. it was president obama's first and best shot at fixing the economy. at a time when he got everything he wanted under one pa-party ru. it cost $831 billion. the largest one-time expenditure

ever by our federal government. it went to companies like solyndra, with their gold-plated connections, subsidized jobs and make believe markets. the stimulus was a case of corporate welfare and cronyism at their worst. you -- you the american people of this country, were cut out of the deal. what did taxpayers get out of the obama stimulus? more debt. that money wasn't just spent and wasted. it was borrowed, spent and wasted. maybe the greatest waste of all was time.

here we were, faced with a massive job crisis, so deep that if everyone out of work stood in single file, that unemployment line would stretch the length of the entire american continent. you would think that any president, whatever his party, would make job creation and nothing else his first order of economic business. but this president didn't do that. instead, we got a long, divisive, all or nothing attempt to put the federal government in charge of health care. obama care comes to more than 2,000 pages of rules, mandates, taxes, fees and fines that have no place in a free country. [ applause ]

[ cheers and applause ] >> that's right. that's right. you know what? the president has declared that the debate over government-controlled health care is over. that will come as news to the millions of americans who will elect mitt romney so we can repeal obama care. [ cheers and applause ] and the biggest, coldest power

play of all in obama care? came at the expense of the elderly. you see, even with all the hidden taxes to pay for the health care takeover, even with the new law and new taxes on nearly 1 million small businesses, the planners in washington still didn't have enough money. they needed more. they needed hundreds of billions more. so, they just took it all away from medicare. $716 billion, funneled out of medicare by president obama. an obligation we have to our parents and grandparents is being sacrificed, all to pay for a new entitlement we didn't even ask for. the greatest threat to medicare

is obama care and we're going to stop it. [ cheers and applause ] in congress, when they take out the heavy books and the wall charts about medicare, my thoughts go back to a house on garfield street in wisconsin. my wonderful grandma, janet, had alzheimer's, and he moved in with mom and me. though she felt lost at times, we did all the little things that made her feel loved. we had help from medicare. and it was there, just like it's there for my mom today. medicare is a promise, and we will honor it. a romney/ryan administration will protect and strengthen

medicare for my mom's generation, my generation and for my kids' and yours. [ cheers and applause ] so, our opponents can consider themselves on notice. in this election, on this issue, the usual posturing on the left isn't going to work. mitt romney and i know the difference between protecting a program and raiding it. ladies and gentlemen, our nation needs this debate, we want this debate. we will win this debate. [ cheers and applause ]

obama care, as much as anything else, explains why a presidency that began with such anticipation now comes to such a disappointing close. it began with a financial crisis. it ends with a job crisis. it began with a housing crisis they alone didn't cause. it ends with a housing crisis they didn't correct. [ applause ] it began with a perfect aaa credit rating for the united states. it ends with a downgraded america. it all started off with stirring

speeches, the thrill of something new. now, all that's left is a presidency adrift, surviving on slogans that already seem tired. grasping at a moment that has already passed. like a ship, trying to sail on yesterday's wind. [ applause ] you know, president obama was asked not long ago to reflect on any mistakes he might have made. he said, "well, i haven't communicated enough." he said his job is to, quote, "tell a story to the american people." as if that's the whole problem here? he needs to talk more and we need to be better listeners?

ladies and gentlemen, these past four years, we have suffered no shortage of words in the white house. what is missing is leadership in the white house. [ cheers and applause ] [ cheers and applause ] >> and the story that barack obama does tell forever shifting

blame to the last administration is getting old. the man assumed office almost four years ago, isn't it about time he assumed responsibility? [ cheers and applause ] in this generation, a defining responsibility of government is to steer our nation clear of a debt crisis, while there is still time. back in 2008, candidate obama called a $10 trillion national debt unpatriotic. serious talk from what looks like a serious reformer. yet, by his own decisions, president obama has added more debt than any other president before him. and more than all the troubled governments of europe combined.

one president, one term, $5 trillion in new debt. he created a new bipartisan debt commission. they came back with an urgent report. he thanked them, sent them on their way and then did exactly nothing. republicans stepped up with good faith reforms and solutions equal to the problems. how did the president respond? by doing nothing. nothing except to dodge and demagogue the issue. so, here we are. $16 trillion in debt, and still, he does nothing. in europe, massive debts have put entire governments at risk of collapse. and still, he does nothing. and all we have heard from this president and his team are

attacks on anyone who dares to point out the obvious. they have no answer to this simple reality. we need to stop spending money we don't have. really simple. not that hard. [ cheers and applause ] my dad used to say to me, "son, you have a choice. you can be part of the problem, or you can be part of the solution." the president's administration has made its choices. 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.

[ applause ] and i'm going to level with you. we don't have that much time. but if we are serious and smart and we lead, we can do this. after four years of government trying to divide up the wealth, we will get america creating wealth again. with tax fairness and regulatory reform. we'll put government back on the side of men and women who create jobs. and the men and women who need jobs. my mom started a small business and i've seen what it takes. mom was 50 when my dad died. she got on a bus every weekday for years and rode 40 miles each

morning to madison. she earned a new degree and learned n eed new skills to sta small business. it wasn't just a new livelihood. it was a new life. and it transformed my mom from a widow in grief to a small businesswoman whose happyness wasn't just in the past. her work gave her hope. it made our family proud. and to this day, my mom is my role model. [ cheers and applause ] [ cheers and applause ]

>> behind every small business, there's a story worth knowing. all the corner shops in our towns and cities, the restaurants, cleaners, gyms, hair is a loans, hardware stores. these didn't come out of nowhere. a lot of heart goes into each one. and if small business people say they made it on their own, all they are saying is that nobody else worked seven days a week in their place. nobody showed up in their place to open the door at 5:00 in the morning. nobody did their thinking and worrying and sweating for them. after all that work, and in a bad economy, it sure doesn't help to hear from their president that government gets the credit. what they deserve to hear is the truth, yes, you did build that. [ applause ]

we have a plan for a stronger middle class, with a goal of generating 12 million jobs over the next four years. in a clean break -- in a clean break from the obama years, and, frankly, from the years before this president, we will keep federal spending at 20% of gdp or less, because that is enough. [ applause ] the choice -- the choice is whether to put hard limits on economic growth or hard limits on the size of government. and we choose to limit government.

[ applause ] i learned a good deal about economics and about america from the author of the reagan tax reforms, the great jack kemp. [ applause ] what gave jack that incredible enthusiasm was his belief in the possibilities of free people, and the power of free enterprise and strong communities to overcome poverty and dispair. we need that same optimism right now. and in our dealings with other nations, a romney/ryan administration will speak with confidence and clarity. when men and women rise up for their own freedom, they will know that the american president is on their side.

[ applause ] instead -- instead of managing american decline, leaving allies to doubt us and adversaries to test us, we will act in the convection that the united states is still the greatest force for peace and liberty that this world has ever known. [ applause ] president obama is the kind of politician who puts promises on the record and then calls that the record. but we are four years into this presidency. the issue is not the economy that barack obama inherited. not the economy that he

envisions. but this economy that we are living. college graduates should not have to live out their 20s in their childhood bedrooms. staring up at fading obama posters, wondering when they can move out and get going with life. [ cheers and applause ] [ cheers and applause ] everyone -- everyone who feels stuck in the obama economy is

right to focus on the here and now. and i hope you understand this, too. if you're feeling left out or passed by, you have not failed. your leaders have failed you. none of us -- [ applause ] none of us should have to settle for the best this administration offers. a dull, adventureless journey, from one entitle lement to the next. a country, where everything is free but us? listen to the way we're already spoken to. listen to the way we're spoken to already. as if everyone is stuck in some class or station in life. victims of circumstances beyond our control. with the government there to help us cope with our fate.

it's the exact opposite of everything i learned growing up in wisconsin or a college in ohio. now, when i was waiting tables, washing dishes or mowing lawns for money, i never thought of myself as stuck in some station in life. i was on my own path, my own journey, an american journey, where i could think for myself, decide for myself, define happiness for myself. that's what we do in this country. that's the american dream. that's freedom. and i'll take it any day over the supervision and sanctimony of the central planners. [ cheers and applause ]

by themselves -- by themselves, the failures of one administration are not a mandate for a new administration. a challenger must stand on his own merits. he must be ready and worthy to serve in the office of president. we're a full generation apart, governor romney and i. and in some ways, we're different. there are the songs on his ipod, which i've heard on the campaign bus and i've heard it on my hotel elevators. he actually -- he actually urged me to play some of these songs at campaign rallies, i said, look, i hope it's not a dealbreaker, mitt, but my play list, it starts with ac/dc and it ends with zeppelin. a generation apart, but that

doesn't matter. it makes us different, but not in any of the things that matter. mitt romney and i both grew up in the heartland. and we know what places like wisconsin and michigan look like when times are good. we know what these communities look like when times are good, when people are working, when families are doing more than just getting by. and we know it can be that way again. we've had very different careers, mine, mainly in public service. his, mostly in the private sector. he helped start businesses and turn around failing ones. and by the way, being successful in business, that's a good thing.

[ cheers and applause ] mitt has not only succeeded, but he's succeeded where others could not. he turned around the olympics at a time when a great institution was collapsing under the weight of bad mang management, overspending and corruption. sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it? he was a republican governor of a state where almost 9 in 10 legislators are democrats, and yet he balanced the budget without raising taxes. unemployment went down. household incomes went up. and massachusetts under governor mitt romney saw it its credit rating upgraded. mitt and i also go to different churches. but in any church, the best kind

of preaching is done by example. and i've been watching that example. the man who will accept your nomination tomorrow is prayerful and faithful and honorable. not only a defender of marriage, he offers an example of marriage at its best. not only a fine businessman, he's a fine man. worthy of leading this optimistic and good-hearted country. our faiths come together in the same moral creed. we believe that in every life, there is goodness. for every person, there is hope. each one of us was made for a reason. bearing the image and likeness of the lord of life.