Submitted by Fox First at Ten on October 12th
By JOHN FLESHERAssociated Press
HUDSONVILLE, Mich. (AP) - Ann Romney said Friday that her husband's judgment in choosing Paul Ryan as his running mate was vindicated during the Wisconsin congressman's debate with Vice President Joe Biden.
"I think people can understand why Mitt made that choice," Mrs. Romney told a cheering crowd during a rally in this western Michigan town the morning after the vice presidential candidates squared off. "Because what he saw in Paul was a level head, very smart. You can tell, it came through, the kind of character that this man has. He has such integrity. ... We need those two guys in the White House and Michigan can help us get that job done."
Polls show a tightening race in the Romneys' home state, where President Barack Obama had enjoyed a comfortable lead over the former Massachusetts governor before the president's lackluster performance in their first debate last week.
Mrs. Romney reminisced about the couple's high school romance and drew laughs by speaking eagerly of the next stop on her campaign tour: a tour of the Franklin Cider Mill in Bloomfield Hills, which she visited often as a child.
"This is the home that Mitt and I grew up in," she said. "This is the state where George Romney was governor. This is the place that was turned around with a Romney administration. We want another Romney administration to turn this state around."
While Michigan's economy is enjoying a modest uptick, Mrs. Romney said the state still suffers from high unemployment.
"This has been a jobless recovery, if you even want to call it a recovery," she said.
"One thing that I can say about Mitt, he does not fail. And he will not fail the American people. He is going to get it right, he is going to get us back to recovery, he is going to get Michigan back and charged again."
With her husband and Obama preparing for their second debate next Tuesday, Mrs. Romney said their initial encounter gave people a chance to see the Republican presidential nominee as she does.
"Because there was no filter any more, it was only Mitt on the stage," she said. "And what came through is the Mitt that I know, that I've been waiting for ... a very long time for the American people to see who this guy is."
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
