Mitt Romney had to give the speech of his life last night to close the Republican National Convention—particularly after Clint Eastwood’s bizarre, rambling monologue right before him—and he did just that, thrilling the crowd with energetic, punchy attacks on President Obama and the failures of his first term.
It was the kind of address that Republicans desperately sought from him, to demonstrate that he could rise above the stereotype of a stiff, awkward rich guy and rile his base with an address that was aggressive and combative but still made him seem likable and regular at the same time. Romney achieved those first two goals—aggressive and combative—with a blistering attack on Obama’s first term record, focusing primarily on the economy but also going after foreign policy, trying to make the president look weak and too willing to “talk” to our enemies.
As for the regular guy likability, Romney delved into his appreciation for the sacrifices and hard work his wife Ann put in raising his five sons, and he choked up when he talked about the example his parents provided.
Commentators said they expected that Romney should pull away from the president in the polls based on his performance at the convention. But they expect the lead to be short-lived as the Democrats and the president get their chance to define and dissect Romney and running mate Paul Ryan next week in Charlotte.
“I wish President Obama had succeeded, because I want America to succeed,” Romney said. “But his promises gave way to disappointment and division. This isn’t something we have to accept. Now is the moment when we can do something. And with your help, we will do something. Now is the moment where we can stand up and say, “I am an American, I make my destiny, we deserve better, my children deserve better, my family deserves better, my country deserves better.”
As he talked about his childhood in Michigan, Romney said his friends never made an issue of his Mormon religion.
“We were Mormons,” he said. “And growing up in Michigan, that might have seemed unusual or out of place, but I do not remember it that way. My friends cared more about what sports teams we followed that what church went to. My mom and dad gave their kids the greatest gift of all—the gift of unconditional love. They cared deeply about who we would be and much less about what we would do. Unconditional love is a gift that Ann and I have tried to to pass on to our sons and now to our children. All the laws and legislation is in the world will never heal the world like the loving hearts and arms of loving mothers
and fathers. You know, if every child could go to sleep feeling wrapped in the love of their family and God’s love, this world would be a far more gentle place.”
Romney attempted to reach out to women—a group with which Obama holds a substantial lead over Romney—by speaking passionately about his wife Ann and the difficulties she faced raising their five boys while he traveled.
“These were tough days on Ann, particularly. She was heroic through it all,” he said. “Five boys with our families a long way away. I had to travel a lot for my job then, and I’d call and try to offer support. But every mom knows that does not help get the homework done or get the kids out the door to school. I knew that her job as a mom was harder than mine. I knew without question that her job as a mom was a lot more important than mine. And as America saw Tuesday night, Ann would have succeeded at anything she wanted to do.”
That last line drew wild applause and a standing ovation for Ann Romney, who could be seen on television close-ups smiling warmly in acknowledgement.
After he set himself up as a regular guy who cares deeply about his wife and family, it was time for Romney to go in on the president.
“Hope and change had a powerful appeal,” Romney said, referring to the president’s 2008 election slogan. “But tonight I would ask a simple question: if you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn’t feel that way now that he is President Obama? You know there is something wrong with the kind of job he has done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him.”
The crowd erupted in cheering and applause for that last line, perhaps his best of the night.
“The president has not disappointed you because he wanted to—the president has disappointed America because he hasn’t lead America in the right direction,” he said. “He took office without the basic qualification that most Americans have, and one that was essential to the task at hand: He had almost no experience working in a business. Jobs to him are about government.
Romney talked about the many businesses that he claims were helped by the investments of Bain Capital, the venture capital firm he founded.
“That business we started with 10 people has now grown into a great American success story,” he said. “Some of the companies we helped start are names you know you’ve have heard from tonight—an office company called Staples, where I’m pleased to see the Obama campaign has been shopping. The Sports Authority, which of course became a favorite of my boys. We helped start an early childhood learning company called Bright Horizons that First Lady Michelle Obama rightly praised. And at a time when nobody thought we’d ever see a new steel mill built in America, we took a chance and build one in the cornfield in Indiana. Today, Steel Dynamics is one of the largest steel producers in the United States. These are American success stories. And yet the centerpiece of the president’s entire reelection campaign is attacking success. Is it any wonder that someone who attacks success has led the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression?”
Business and economic success—and the riches that they can bring—will clearly be a central theme of Romney’s (and in a different way, Obama’s) campaign over the next two months.
“In America, we celebrate success,” he said. “We don’t apologize for success.”
Perhaps the low point of the night for Romney was when he mocked Obama’s concern for the environment and incited the crowd to laugh at the idea of the oceans rising through global warming—an image that will not play well in many parts of the rest of the world, where global warming is already wreaking havoc.
“President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans,” Romney said, looking out at the crowd, which burst into laughter. “And to heal the planet.” More laughter from the crowd.
Then Romney paused and looked into the camera: “My promise is to help you and your family.”
