Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan addressed a crowd of supporters at Richmond International airport on Friday, making his first campaign stop after the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.
Senate candidate and former Gov. George Allen, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and state Attorney General Ken Cuccinellid also spoke at the event. U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-7th), introduced Ryan, and Gov. Bob McDonnell was also present.
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney was scheduled to attend the rally, but chose instead to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Isaac and to meet with the victims and first responders, in Louisiana.
"It doesn't matter who you are or what generation you come from," Ryan said to an enthusiastic crowd. "This is the most important [election] of your lifetime."
Ryan spent much of his time criticizing Barack Obama. He has "put us on a path of decline" and "made things much worse," Ryan said. "This is the most partisan administration [Eric and I] have worked with," he added.
He also referenced an interview in which Obama said, the biggest mistake of his presidency had been not communicating enough. Ryan disagreed, saying, "Ladies and gentleman, our problem is not [that there isn't] enough talking in the White House; our problem is that we have not had enough leadership in the White House."
In contrast to the president, Ryan described Romney as a decent, faithful and honorable man. He defended Romney's position as CEO of Bain Capitol and praised his leadership skills.
"Historians say there are four essential qualities that make for a great leader," Ryan said. "A person with a bedrock of principles, a person with a moral compass, a person with a vision for the country and a person who has the experience and leadership skills to execute that vision. Friends, that is Mitt Romney in a nutshell."
Ryan briefly described Romney's five-point plan which, according to Romney's campaign web site, is to achieve North American energy independence by 2020, enact education reform, increase free trade, balance the budget and "champion small businesses" by lowering taxes on business and modernizing the tax code.
At least two people passed out on the tarmac while waiting for the rally to begin, presumably because of the intense heat.
Contact staff writer Rachel Stoltzfoos at rachel.stolzfoos@richmond.edu
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