ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (August 13, 2012)--Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was defending his running mate's Medicare proposal Saturday, telling Florida voters that he and Paul Ryan both want to "preserve and protect Medicare."

Romney said Democratic President Barack Obama's decision to take $700 billion from Medicare for his health care law was "not the right answer."

The likely GOP presidential nominee campaigned Monday in St. Augustine, Fla., where hundreds of people were kept out of the event because security screeners couldn't clear them in fast enough.

Other than defending Ryan, Romney barely addressed Medicare while visiting a state with a large population of senior citizens who rely on the program.

Romney was on his first solo campaign swing since introducing Ryan as his running mate over the weekend.