TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- The Republican National Convention has wrapped up with a speech by Mitt Romney that combined details of his life story with a pledge to create millions of jobs and "restore the promise of America."
After entering the convention hall down one of the aisles, shaking hands with dozens of delegates along the way, Romney began a speech in which he spoke of his youth as a Mormon, and then as a married man with five rambunctious sons.
He choked up at least twice, once when he recalled how he and his wife Ann would awake to find "a pile of kids asleep in our room."
But the speech also contained repeated criticism of President Barack Obama, particularly his failure to spur a more robust economic recovery. Romney said Obama can "tell us it was someone else's fault" and that in the next four years "he'll get it right" -- but that he can't tell Americans that they are better off than when he took office.
Romney said he will start his presidency with a "jobs tour" -- and he accused Obama of starting off with an "apology tour." He accused Obama of failing to support Israel, while showing patience with Israel's arch-enemy, Iran.
He drew cheers when he vowed to repeal Obama's signature health care law.
His speech ended with the now-traditional scene in which Romney and his wife Ann were joined by running mate Paul Ryan and his wife, and then by other family members, as delegates cheered and balloons fell.
