Aide: Romney speech to give 'clear vision'

TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 30 (UPI) -- The Republican convention culminates Thursday with a speech by nominee Mitt Romney that an aide said would present "a clear vision of a Romney presidency."

''It'll be a clear vision of a Romney presidency, and very much from his heart about America and why he wants to be president and what a Romney presidency would be like,'' chief political strategist Stuart Stevens told reporters.

Romney's 40-minute prime-time speech -- delivered after Cuban-American freshman Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida introduces the former Massachusetts governor -- was also expected to criticize President Barack Obama, Stevens said.

Vice presidential running mate Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin leveled criticism at Obama Wednesday night, telling the convention, "After four years of getting the runaround, America needs a turnaround, and the man for the job is Governor Romney."

Ryan, 42, also suggested his relative youth was an advantage, saying he would stand with Romney, 65, in embarking on an intergenerational struggle to protect Medicare -- a social insurance program Democrats accuse him of trying to dismantle.

"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," Ryan told delegates. "And I know that we are ready."

Ryan also assailed Obama over healthcare reform.

"The president has declared that the debate over government-controlled healthcare is over," Ryan said. "That will come as news to the millions of Americans who will elect Mitt Romney so we can repeal Obamacare."

Obama commented on the convention at an Ames, Iowa, campaign stop Tuesday: "I am sure they will have some wonderful things to say about me. But what you won't hear from them is a path forward that meets the challenges of our time."

The Democratic National Convention is to be held in Charlotte, N.C., next week.

Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter told reporters in Tampa, Fla., where the GOP convention was being held, that Republicans know "how vulnerable they are about their plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program and how vulnerable they are with seniors."