Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and his wife, Callista, speak during a tribute to former president Ronald Reagan at the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Thursday, August 30. It's the last night of the convention in Tampa, Florida. 
Callista and Newt Gingrich take the stage during the final day of the Republican National Convention. 
Delegates listen to the national anthem at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. 
Texas Gov. Rick Perry applauds during the final day of the convention. 
U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Florida, speaks on stage during the final day. 
Law enforcement officials work to free protesters with Earth First, who had connected themselves to each other in front of the Big Bend TECO Power Station in Apollo Beach, Florida. Substantially fewer protesters took to the downtown Tampa streets Thursday. 
GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan addresses the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night. 
Paul Ryan's wife, Janna, is flanked by her sons Charlie, left, and Sam during Ryan's keynote address Wednesday night. 
A woman grasps her hands during speeches on the third day of the GOP convention. 
Paul Ryan and his wife and children exit the stage after the biggest speech of his political career. 
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Wednesday. She accused President Barack Obama of yielding the nation's leadership role in the world. 
George Engelbach, dressed as President Abraham Lincoln, attends the GOP convention. 
Mike Huckabee, a Republican candidate in the 2008 presidential primaries, backs his one-time rival Mitt Romney. 
A woman snaps an image with her iPhone during Wednesday night's events. 
Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty takes the convention stage. 
Delegate Carlos Mendez of Puerto Rico watches Wednesday night's program. 
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez delivers remarks. Her speech emphasized her belief in the American Dream. 
Delegate Crystal Berg of Hartford, Wisconsin, cries while watching the George H.W. Bush tribute Wednesday night. 
Arizona Sen. John McCain, who was the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, speaks to the audience. 
As Sen. John McCain speaks, some audience members display happy birthday posters. 
Sen. John McCain, who was a POW during the Vietnam War, addresses the crowd. 
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky speaks during the third day of the Republican National Convention. 
Col.Oscar Poole of Georgia puts his arm around Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. 
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky speaks during the third day of the Republican National Convention. His father, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, was one of the hopefuls for the 2012 nomination. 
Former President George W. Bush is shown on the giant screens at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. 
A woman gestures during the third day of the Republican National Convention. 
Rosemary Edwards of Austin, Texas, kisses the face of Texas Gov. Rick Perry. 
Sen. John Thune of South Dakota speaks during the third day of the Republican National Convention. 
A woman holds a campaign sign. 
Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio speaks at the podium. 
Delegates from Maine and supporters of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul chant "As Maine goes, so goes the nation" after they staged a walkout at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. 
Paul Ryan speaks during a soundcheck Wednesday. 
Ryan waves with daughter, Liza Ryan, and sons, Charlie Ryan, right, and Sam Ryan from the stage during a soundcheck. 
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney exits a vehicle before boarding his campaign plane. As the Republican National Convention continues, Romney will travel to Indianapolis to address the American Legion. 
Laura Bowman accepts Bradley Thompson's proposal on the stage. Thompson is a production manager and Bowman is a production coordinator for the convention. 
Arizona Sen. John McCain walks the floor. 
Bradley Thompson kneels down to propose to Laura Bowman, who accepted, on the stage. 
Journalists and media work the third day of the Republican National Convention. 
Ryan gives the thumbs-up during a sound check at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. 
Ann Romney, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's wife, greets a crowd of supporters on Tuesday. 
Mitt Romney joins his wife on stage shortly after she addressed the Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Tuesday, August 28. 
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie delivers the keynote address to wrap up the first full night of the convention. 
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney sits between his wife, Ann, and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during Gov. Chris Christie's speech. 
Concluding the first night of speech, Chris Christie declared Republicans were willing to face the tough issues and find solutions that work. 
Delegates watch Gov. Chris Christie deliver the keynote address. 
A delegate snaps a photograph of Chris Christie just before his speech. 
As the crowd cheers, Mitt Romney embraces his wife, Ann, on stage during the convention. 
An excerpt from Ann Romney's speech is displayed on a teleprompter Tuesday. She repeatedly referred to her first date with Mitt Romney in urging Americans to trust him to fix the nation's problems. 
A veteran claps during Ann Romney's speech. 
Ann Romney addresses the crowd in the biggest political speech of her life. She concluded by declaring "you can trust Mitt." 
Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum addresses the crowd Tuesday. 
Leslie Jones of Virginia Beach, Virginia, wears a hat with tea bags attached. 
Ohio Gov. John Kasich waves as he takes the stage. 
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich walks the floor. 
American pop opera singer Neal E. Boyd performs at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. 
American country and gospel vocal quartet Oak Ridge Boys perform. 
Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz, who is running for the U.S. Senate, speaks. 
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley waves on stage. 
Former U.S. Rep. Artur Davis speaks. He changed his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican earlier this year. 
Delegates crowd the floor after the tallying of votes during the roll call for nomination of president of the United States at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. 
Delegates display signs in support of Mitt Romney after the tallying of votes during the roll call for nomination of president of the United States. 
Scott Romney, brother of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, cheers during the roll call. 
People cheer as the screen displays "Over The Top" during the roll call of delegates. 
Supporters flash posters supporting Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. 
People hold signs that say "Mitt!" as U.S. Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, speaks. 
Delegates from host state Florida face photographers and cameras as they pose for the official convention photograph. 
A delegate takes a picture of the floor at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. 
Ann Romney, Republican presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's wife, stands onstage with stage manager Howard Kolins during a soundcheck. 
People from the Texas delegation say the Pledge of Allegiance. 
A delegate from Wisconsin sports a cheese hat at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. 
Ann Romney leans on a seat aboard the campaign plane en route to Tampa. 
Karl Rove, former deputychief of staff and senior policy adviser to President George W. Bush, talks on a phone at the convention hall. 
Republican candidate Ron Paul waves to supporters at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. 
A woman cheers during the second day of the Republican National Convention. 
A delegate checks out the convention floor before other delegates arrive at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. 
A convention attendee carries a bag with a Time magazine featuring Mitt Romney on the cover. 
A participant walks the convention floor before the start of proceedings Tuesday. Organizers pushed events back a day because of concerns about Isaac. 
The Republican National Convention officially began Monday, August 27, but the bulk of the action was delayed until Tuesday. 
A woman captures the goings-on with her phone before the start of the shortened first day of the Republican National Convention. 
The chairman of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus, convenes the convention with a bang of a gavel. 
Priebus raises the gavel as he convenes the Republican National Convention. 
Lynne David walks behind a group of law enforcement officers as they patrol the streets before the convention. 
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie walks through the convention center before the start of the abbreviated first day. 
Last-minute adjustments are made to the main stage at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on the abbreviated first day of the GOP convention. 
An elephant logo is featured on the side of a tent outside of the Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. 
Two convention-goers wear plastic bags as shelter from the rain caused by Tropical Storm Isaac. 
A man reads a newspaper in the empty seats of the Tampa Bay Times Forum. 
Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu, left, stands at the podium with stage manager Howard Kolins before events begin Monday. 
Men wearing cowboy hats stand on the arena floor before the start of the abbreviated first day. 
Convention staff hang a Romney-Ryan sign at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Sunday, August 26, in preparation for the Republican National Convention. 
A tribute to NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong, who died Saturday, August 25, is displayed at the GOP convention as preparations continue. 
Donald Trump, who accepted the Statesman of the Year Award from the Sarasota County Republican Party, answers questions in Sarasota, Florida. 
A microphone is in place at the front of the convention hall in Tampa. 
Former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul speaks in the Sun Dome at the University of South Florida in Tampa on Sunday. 
Activists hold signs mocking President Barack Obama at the Tea Party Unity Rally at The River at Tampa Bay Church. 
Police officers question protesters carrying an effigy of Republican Party presidential candidate Mitt Romney during a demonstration in downtown Tampa. 
Rachel Bolch Thach tries to shelter herself from the rain in Tampa. Tropical Storm Isaac is expected to bring rain and wind to the area and has caused convention officials to delay the start of the convention until Tuesday. 
- NEW: Romney will say President Obama has failed, and he will restore America's greatness
- GOP presidential nominee MItt Romney speaks to his party and the nation Thursday night
- Running mate Paul Ryan energized the GOP convention with a conservative speech
- Democrats challenge the accuracy of claims in Ryan's speech
Tampa, Florida (CNN) -- Mitt Romney will accept the Republican nomination for president Thursday night by asking voters to choose between what he calls unfulfilled promises of President Barack Obama and his promise to restore America's greatness.
In excerpts released by his campaign from what will be the most important political speech of his life, Romney will expresses themes and imagery similar to the oratory of Republican icon Ronald Reagan on his road to the presidency in 1980.
He will recall the excitement of the nation in electing Obama four years ago, saying the president's campaign theme of "hope and change" had a powerful appeal.
"But tonight I'd ask a simple question: If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn't you feel that way now that he's President Obama?" Romney will say, according to the excerpts. "You know there's something wrong with the kind of job he's done as president when the best feeling you had, was the day you voted for him."
Romney will say that while his own patriotism caused him to hope Obama would succeed, "his promises gave way to disappointment and division."
"This isn't something we have to accept. Now is the moment when we can do something. With your help we will do something," he will say, according to the excerpts. "Now is the moment when we can stand up and say, "I'm an American. I make my destiny. And we deserve better! My children deserve better! My family deserves better. My country deserves better!"
The prime-time, nationally televised address will conclude the storm-shortened convention that sought to galvanize the conservative Republican base behind Romney and frame the upcoming election as a referendum on Obama's presidency.
Romney's running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, energized the convention Wednesday night with a powerful attack on Obama that championed conservative principles, setting the stage for Romney's highly anticipated speech intended to provide Americans just tuning in to the election campaign with an introduction to the man and candidate.
The speech will provide a biographical look at Romney's life, talking about his parents -- who both held or ran for political office -- and his Mormon faith and how they shaped his life, the excerpts show.
"Today the time has come for us to put the disappointments of the last four years behind us, to put aside the divisiveness and the recriminations, to forget about what might have been and to look ahead to what can be," Romney will say ."Now is the time to restore the promise of America. Many Americans have given up on this president but they haven't ever thought about giving up. Not on themselves. Not on each other. And not on America."
Focusing his message on the economy -- an issue that polls show him winning with voters -- Romney will say the country's needs are not "complicated or profound."
"What America needs is jobs, lots of jobs," he will say.
Arguing Obama offers more of the same to people who "now believe that the future will not be better than the past," Romney will say he is running for president to "help create a better future."
He will repeat campaign-tested promises to repeal Obama's 2010 health care reforms detested by Republicans, increase domestic oil production, reduce government regulations and cut taxes on businesses. Romney also will pledge to assert U.S. might and influence around world, saying "we will honor America's democratic ideals because a free world is a more peaceful world."
"If I am elected president of these United States, I will work with all my energy and soul to restore that America, to lift our eyes to a better future," Romney will say. "That future is our destiny. That future is out there. It is waiting for us. Our children deserve it, our nation depends upon it, the peace and freedom of the world require it. And with your help we will deliver it. Let us begin that future together tonight."
A Romney campaign adviser told reporters Thursday morning that speakers on the final evening of the convention will focus on telling Romney's "personal story," beyond the prevalent image so far of the multimillionaire businessman and former Massachusetts governor waging a five-year quest for the White House.
Scheduled speakers include former business associates, three people who worked alongside Romney in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his lieutenant governor in Massachusetts, said Romney strategist Russ Schriefer. In addition, a GOP source confirmed that actor/director Clint Eastwood would be the "mystery speaker" teased by organizers.
Notable Republican leaders who will address the crowd before Romney include former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his wife, Callista, as well as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Schriefer said. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a conservative Hispanic-American considered a rising star in the Republican Party, will introduce Romney.
For Romney, 65, the nomination puts him within one step of the goal he first sought in 2007 by running for president after serving as a Republican governor for four years in traditionally Democratic Massachusetts.
Though rivals including Gingrich challenged his conservative credentials in the 2012 primaries, Romney emerged victorious. Now he continues to walk a political tightrope in trying to energize right-wing support while also appealing to moderates and independent voters.
On Wednesday, Ryan used the biggest speech of his still young political career to tell the party faithful and the American public Wednesday that time is running out to solve the nation's fiscal problems, but the GOP ticket can do it if elected.
"We will not duck the tough issues -- we will lead," Ryan said in his primetime address televised nationwide. "... The work ahead will be hard. These times demand the best of us -- all of us, but we can do this. We can do this. Together, we can do this."
Republicans at the Tampa Bay Times Forum punctuated Ryan's speech with frequent cheers and ovations, showing he delivered the kind of political red meat they craved as the campaign heads into the stretch drive with the race very close.
GOP convention targets Obama 
Ryan: Let's get this done! 
Ryan sets agenda for foreign policy 
Rice: Education is civil rights issue "He really did blow the roof off this place," said CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley, labeling the performance "the tee-up for Mitt Romney tomorrow."
5 things learned at the convention
Romney chose Ryan, the conservative House Budget Committee chairman from Wisconsin, as his running mate in hopes that the fiscal expert known for big and hard-line ideas would strengthen support on the political right and appeal to moderates and independents seeking solutions for the nation's chronic deficit and debt problems.
Focus on fiscal issues
Ryan, 42, focused mostly on the fiscal issues that are his strength, such as the national debt, stimulus spending under Obama and his proposed Medicare reforms that would partially privatize the government health care system for senior citizens.
Huckabee addresses Romney's Mormonism 
Social issues and the GOP 
Christie defends his RNC speech 
Romney and Ryan: 'A generation apart' Obama and Democrats have attacked the Ryan plan, and he sought to turn the tables on the issue by repeating the factually challenged assertion that the president cut Medicare by more than $700 billion to cover the costs of the 2010 health care reform law passed by Democrats.
The figure comes from a July 24 Congressional Budget Office report that said repealing the health care law, as called for by Romney and Ryan, would increase spending on Medicare by $716 billion through 2022. At the same time, the CBO letter said keeping the law known as Obamacare in place would not mean a $716 billion decrease in Medicare spending, as claimed by Ryan.
Undecideds nudge toward Romney?
Independent fact-checking organizations have rated the Medicare cut accusation first made by Romney as mostly false. Ryan, however, said he and Romney welcomed the debate on how to ensure the long-term solvency of the popular entitlement program that is a key part of America's social safety net.
Democrats questioned the accuracy of other statements in Ryan's speech, including an insinuation that Obama was responsible for a General Motors plant closing in the congressman's hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin when plans to shut it down were announced before the 2008 election. Ryan also criticized Obama for rejecting a deficit reduction plan worked out by a commission that Ryan worked on and eventually voted against its report.
Asked Thursday about those issues, Ryan told CNN that his broader point was that Obama has failed to deliver on promises -- whether to help workers at that GM plant keep their jobs or develop a comprehensive plan to reduce the nation's mounting deficits and debt.
His speech Wednesday included some humorous jabs at Obama that drew laughs and ovations from a charged convention crowd.
"With all their attack ads, the president is just throwing away money, and he's pretty experienced at that," Ryan said early in the speech. Later, Ryan received a standing ovation when he asked: "Without a change in leadership, why would the next four years be any different from the last four years?"
In the most emotional moment, Ryan paid tribute to his mother, who started her own business after his father died.
"It was a new life, and it transformed my mom from a widow in grief to a small businesswoman whose happiness wasn't just in the past," Ryan said. "Her work gave her hope. It made our family proud. And to this day, my mom is my role model."
In the VIP box of the Tampa Bay Times Forum, Ryan's mother, Betty, stood and waved, and he touched his heart with his hand while gazing at her.
America's role in the world
Romney and Republicans contend that Obama's policies, such as stimulus spending, have worsened an already bad economic situation the president inherited from the previous GOP administration of President George W. Bush. They propose traditional conservative policies to shrink government, cut taxes and drastically reform entitlements, which they say will bring economic growth and job creation.
Obama and Democrats say such prescriptions are failed policies of the past and call for increased revenue sources such as higher taxes for wealthy Americans to be part of a deficit reduction plan that includes some spending cuts and entitlement reforms.
"On almost every issue (Romney) wants to go backwards, sometimes all the way to the last century," Obama said Wednesday at a campaign event in Virginia.
Fact Check: Paul Ryan and the debt commission
The president told Time Magazine in an interview made public Thursday that Democrats are not proposing radical solutions, and the nation doesn't need drastic changes.
"If you're willing to raise taxes on millionaires and billionaires, then you can make modest reforms on entitlements, reduce some additional discretionary spending, achieve deficit reduction and still preserve Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid in ways that people can count on," Obama told Time, later adding that the country needs "some commonsense solutions that stay focused on helping middle-class families."
"The only reason that you would have to go further than that is if there's no revenue whatsoever. And that's a major argument that we're having with the Republicans."
The convention is proceeding as Hurricane Isaac drenches the Gulf Coast after making landfall in Louisiana on Tuesday night, the eve of the seven-year anniversary of devastating Hurricane Katrina. The storm prompted Republican organizers to postpone the first day of the convention, which is a crucial opportunity for defining Romney to the American people.
Romney clinched the GOP nomination in the roll call of state delegates Tuesday after a rugged Republican primary campaign that saw momentum swings nearly every week and bitter attacks by GOP colleagues
The 2,200-plus convention delegates also approved a conservative platform that calls for less government, opposes same-sex marriage and endorses a "human life amendment" to ban abortion, with no specific exceptions for cases of rape, incest or when the mother's life is threatened.
Personal stories of hard work, success
Throughout the convention, speaker after speaker has emphasized his or her own humble beginnings as descendants of immigrants who worked hard to achieve success for their families and never expected government help or handouts. Virtually every speaker took umbrage with Obama's comment on the campaign trail that "you didn't build that" in reference to successful businesses that received government help along the way.
The latest CNN/ORC International poll indicates a dead heat between Romney and Obama, with new numbers released Sunday showing that 53% of likely voters believe Obama is more in touch with their needs, compared with 39% for Romney.
Obama leads by an equal margin when it comes to being in touch with the middle class, and six in 10 say Obama is in touch with the problems facing women today, with just over three in 10 feeling the same way about Romney.
Romney leads 48% to 44% over Obama on managing the government effectively and has a 6-point advantage on having a clear plan for fixing the nation's problems. Both figures are within the survey's margin of error.
CNN's Kevin Liptak, Kevin Bohn, Paul Steinhauser, Dana Davidsen, Ashley Killough, Dana Bash, Deirdre Walsh, Halimah Abdullah, Martina Stewart, Shawna Shepherd, Rachel Streitfeld and Mark Preston, and HLN's Ed Hornick contributed to this report.
