FILE - In this April 5, 2011 file photo, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., touts his 2012 federal budget during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. On Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney announced Ryan as his running mate. As the chairman of the House Budget Committee, Ryan gives Romney a link to Capitol Hill leadership and underscores Romney's effort to make the election a referendum on the nation's economic course. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
August 11, 2012 - 9:04 AM
NORFOLK, Va. - Appearing for the first time as Mitt Romney's running mate, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan is attacking President Barack Obama for what he calls a "record of failure."
The seven-term congressman says Obama has led the "worst economic recovery in 70 years." He notes that unemployment has been above 8 per cent for more than three years — the longest stretch since the Great Depression.
He spoke in remarks prepared for delivery at the first public appearance of the new Republican presidential ticket.
Ryan, the architect of a controversial budget plan, is promising not to "duck the tough issues." And he says he has the courage to tell the truth.
News from © The Associated Press, 2012