Tonight is Paul Ryan’s night at the GOP Convention. The Wisconsin congressman will mount the stage sometime shortly after 10:00 PM eastern to deliver the most important speech of his life — and a critical speech for the Republican ticket.

It will be up to Paul Ryan to set the stage for Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech tomorrow night. Excerpts released by the campaign make it clear that Ryan will not be sugar-coating the truth:

I accept the calling of my generation to give our children the America that was given to us, with opportunity for the young and security for the old – and I know that we are ready. Our nominee is sure ready. His whole life has prepared him for this moment – to meet serious challenges in a serious way, without excuses and idle words. After four years of getting the run-around, America needs a turnaround, and the man for the job is Governor Mitt Romney.

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“Obamacare comes to more than two thousand pages of rules, mandates, taxes, fees, and fines that have no place in a free country. The president has declared that the debate over government-controlled health care is over. That will come as news to the millions of Americans who will elect Mitt Romney so we can repeal Obamacare.

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“We have a plan for a stronger middle class, with the goal of generating 12 million new jobs over the next four years.

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“My Dad used to say to me: ‘Son. You have a choice: You can be part of the problem, or you can be part of the solution.’ The present administration has made its choices. And Mitt Romney and I have made ours: Before the math and the momentum overwhelm us all, we are going to solve this nation’s economic problems. And I’m going to level with you: We don’t have that much time. But if we are serious, and smart, and we lead, we can do this.

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“The right that makes all the difference now is the right to choose our own leaders. You are entitled to the clearest possible choice because the time for choosing is drawing near. So here is our pledge. We will not duck the tough issues – we will lead. We will not spend four years blaming others – we will take responsibility. We will not try to replace our founding principles, we will reapply our founding principles. The work ahead will be hard. These times demand the best of us – all of us, but we can do this. Together, we can do this.”

There those on the right who might wish that GOP speakers would attack President Obama more directly, with more venom than has so far been shown at the convention. But Romney’s strategy appears to be trying to contrast his campaign, where he speaks hard truths to the voter and offers tough solutions, with Obama’s campaign of distraction, pandering, and deceit.

These are serious times and they demand serious people to offer serious solutions to our problems. Paul Ryan won’t blink an eye tonight when he makes that pitch to the American people.