Ann Romney lauds husband as compassionate problem solver

Ann Romney took center stage at the Republican convention in Tampa where she painted a picture of her husband Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney as a compassionate problem solver.

Ann Romney countered claims that her husband, a former private equity executive who made millions before entering politics, had never struggled in life and was out of touch with the problems of ordinary Americans.

(SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) ANN ROMNEY, SAYING:

"I read somewhere that Mitt and I have a 'storybook marriage,'" she said. "Well, in the storybooks I read, there were never long, long, rainy winter afternoons in a house with five boys screaming at once. And those storybooks never seemed to have chapters called MS or Breast Cancer."

"A storybook marriage? No, not at all. What Mitt Romney and I have is a real marriage."

She said the man she has known for nealry 50 years will not let the country down.

(SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) ANN ROMNEY, SAYING:

"This man will not fail."

Ann Romney, the mother of five boys, is one of Romney's best surrogates and has been at the forefront of his campaign's efforts to present the human side of the former Massachusetts governor.