AFP/Tampa, Florida

Ryan’s image is projected on a wall outside the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Florida during the Republican National Convention
Paul Ryan has energised Mitt Romney’s White House bid with a scathing take-down of Barack Obama’s economic record as he accepted the vice-presidential nomination at the Republican convention.
Adding youthful vim and policy vigour to the Romney ticket, the 42-year-old rising star from small-town Wisconsin received a standing ovation for his impassioned pitch to American voters 10 weeks from election day.
“I accept the duty to help lead our nation out of a jobs crisis and back to prosperity. And I know we can do this,” Ryan said, exhibiting little sign of nerves during his 35-minute speech, by far the biggest of his political life.
Ryan accused Obama of saddling the US economy with four years of failed big government policies and held up Romney, a 65-year-old former Massachusetts governor, as the man to turn things around with his business acumen.
“After four years of getting the run-around, America needs a turnaround, and the man for the job is Governor Mitt Romney,” he said.
Democrats have portrayed Ryan as an extreme, budget-cutting friend of the rich who would gut beloved social programmes.
Ryan took his chance in the convention spotlight to assail the president’s record, saying that Obama’s promises of hope and change had fallen flat after four years of fiscal recklessness, ballooning debt and joblessness.
“It all started off with stirring speeches, Greek columns, the thrill of something new,” he said. “Now all that’s left is a presidency adrift, surviving on slogans that already seem tired, grasping at a moment that has already passed.”