TAMPA, FL -- Chris Christie, the big brash Governor of New Jersey, has never shied away from being brutally honest -- having once even told hurricane beach goers to "get the hell" away from the rising water.

And Christie again praised telling the truth Tuesday night as a means of turning America around: being truthful with working families about unsustainable federal spending levels, telling the truth to seniors about their "overburdened" entitlement programs and being honest with teachers' unions about the need to start putting children first.

Christie's speech, the convention's keynote address, was broadcast nationally and had been one of the most anticipated speeches of the convention.

"Mitt Romney will tell us the hard truths we need to hear to put us back on the path to growth and create good paying private-sector jobs again in America," Christie told a packed Tampa Bay Times Forum late Tuesday night. "We've never been a country to shy away from the truth. History shows that we stand up when it counts and it's this quality that has defined our character and our significance in the world."

Christie, a rookie governor, is considered a rising star in the Republican party and beat back repeated calls to run for the White House himself this year.

He was also believed to be on Romney's shortlist as a vice-presidential candidate.

Earlier Tuesday, Romney officially became the Republican presidential candidate, and Wisconsin

Congressman Paul Ryan was acclaimed as his vice-presidential running mate.

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