Tonight is one of the biggest moments of Mitt Romney’s career, as he goes before the nation and tries to make a forceful case why the country should entrust its future to him.
It is a moment for which the 65-year-old Romney has been striving for years, as he has been on this presidential odyssey for a long time—with it all culminating tonight, probably the most eyeballs he will have for a speech until his victory or concession speech on November 6. Romney’s wife Ann gave America reasons to like him in her widely praised “love” speech on Tuesday night, while his running mate Paul Ryan told America why he should be trusted in his speech last night.
Now, after the customer has been softened up and primed, Romney must step on the stage and make the sale. The stakes couldn’t be higher, with many national polls showing the race to be virtually tied. Romney desperately needs to get a bounce from his convention coronation—because next week President Obama and the Democrats will go to Charlotte and tear him down.
With the stakes so high, various media sites went out and solicited opinion on what Romney needs to accomplish with tonight’s speech and how he might go about doing that.
John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, said Romney has two main tasks: One, convince Americans “that they believe in him and trust in him, and two, that he has a concrete plan to get our economy back on the right track.”
“We’ve got to reduce the unfavorables, and many Americans will be looking at him for the first time,” McCain told Reuters.
At the convention in Tampa, delegates on the floor were full of opinion about how Romney should approach tonight’s speech. New York State Senator Mike Nozzolio said Romney needs to explain to voters in a clear way that he is “competent, directed, focused, and can make the message appeal to folks around the kitchen table.
“He’s going to be the guest of millions of Americans in their living rooms, and this is a wonderful opportunity for people to understand what he knows and where he wants to take us,” Nozzolio said.
Donna Gosney, of Boone County, West Virginia, said Romney simply needs to say what he would do to reignite substantial job growth.
“We’ve got 2,000 reasons in Boone County to vote for Mitt Romney. They’re all miners without jobs,” she said.
Frank Steed, of Navarro County, Texas, said Romney should not worry about trying to appear warm and fuzzy.
“He is who he is,” said Steed. “And I think he ought to be proud of that. He’s a businessman. He’s not a politician.”
