Ryan denies Romney campaign avoiding policy specifics as Election Day nears

Mitt Romney's new running mate on Friday denied that the Republican presidential ticket is avoiding specifics on their policy proposals. 

"No one has been more specific than House Republicans and Mitt Romney about what it's going to take to get this country out of debt," Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) told conservative Laura Ingraham on her radio show. 

"This is just the kind of criticism you get when the other side has nothing to offer," he said of criticism that Romney is campaigning on promises without offering specific plans. "The president hasn't offered anything."

Ryan also defended the presumptive GOP nominee's personality. Polls, including a new Gallup poll released Friday, show President Obama well in the lead when it comes to "likability," and Romney has been parodied regularly as aloof to the point of robotic. 

"In Tampa, I believe people will get to know who Mitt Romney is, the kind of man he is, the kind of human being he is," Ryan said.

Romney will accept the GOP presidential nomination officially next week at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.

"Gosh, I wish everybody could get to know [Romney] like I do," he continued. "He's one of the most kind, well-intentioned, thoughtful, mild-mannered people I've ever known."

But Ryan maintained the election should be about "ideas" in order to avoid the United States becoming "a nation in decline."

"I think the president would love to make this a personality contest," he added, saying that would "diminish" the choice the nation faces in this election. 

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