RNC 2012: Summing it up
TAMPA — So I’m sitting at the gate in the Tampa airport, Sunday column filed, and finally have time to put down some quick thoughts about Thursday night’s finale at the RNC.
First, Clint Eastwood’s performance is a good example of why (I presume) he insists that the actors in his movies follow a script. There were some grand moments in there — “You, we, we own this country. … Politicians are employees of ours” being one of them — and the image of President Obama as an empty chair is going to have staying power in this campaign. But his 12-minute bit could have been done in much less time and been even more effective. As rambling and bizarre as Eastwood was at times, I don’t think he hurt Mitt Romney with his performance. He just didn’t help as much as he might have.
Second, there were a few primetime-worthy appearances earlier in the evening that would have done much more to burnish Romney’s public image. The first was a trio of speeches by members of Romney’s church in Massachusetts, talking about their friendship with the Romneys and the ways Mitt Romney went out of his way to help them in times of personal crisis. I won’t go into these too much because Sunday’s column focuses on one of them. But they were extremely moving and shed light on two aspects of him: his faith, and his service to others. Ann Romney said Tuesday night, going off-script for a few moments to emphasize the point, that he doesn’t like to talk about things he does for others. But the stories of that trio went a long way toward demonstrating there’s a lot to tell.
The Olympians’ appearance was also worthy, particularly Derek Parra’s speech. Even better may have been the video about his salvage job at the 2002 Winter Games. If I can find it online, I’ll add a link.
Third, Jeb Bush’s appearance with a teacher and student from Florida was strong. The time devoted to it, taken with Condoleezza Rice’s remarks about education reform and school choice, suggested strongly that those would be high-priority issues in a Romney presidency. Then Romney himself named them in a list of five things he would do to reinvigorate the economy in the short and long terms. If the campaign continues to talk about school choice, it could make for an unexpected but welcome complement to school choice advocates’ charter school campaign in Georgia this fall.
Fourth, Marco Rubio was outstanding, as expected. He spent a great deal of time talking about himself — which some observers have taken as a way to promote himself for 2016 or 2020 — but I don’t think the Romney folks will worry too much about that. That’s because any promotion of Rubio’s story is a promotion of American exceptionalism and the endurance of the American Dream. Indeed, Rubio was just one of several speakers this week who described themselves as first-, second- or third-generation Americans. At a national level, there is an obvious intent among Republicans to change the way their partisans talk about immigration. Which is not to say going soft on illegal immigration, but to make clear that there are a host of welcome, legal immigrants that the GOP intends to celebrate.
Finally, there was Romney himself. Let’s get this out of the way: He wasn’t the best speaker of the week. He might not even have been in the top 5. But that is not what makes him presidential material, and he certainly gave an address worthy of a presidential nominee. It built carefully but surely to a strong finish, and everyone I spoke with came away thinking he had done a perfectly fine job at capping off the week.
Overall, if the GOP’s goal was to explain the message it’s selling to voters clearly and confidently, the week was a success.
– By Kyle Wingfield
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
218 comments Add your comment
md
August 31st, 2012
3:59 pm
“When kids play H.S. football in a $60 million stadium that kind of sends a message about academics.”
Academics is still and always will be an individual choice………drug dealers make a boat load of money too, but it wouldn’t be the path most would recommend……..
HDB
August 31st, 2012
3:59 pm
Lil’ Barry Bailout – Vote American
August 31st, 2012
3:52 pm
China and India are currently pumping out 3 times more engineers than the US
I’m willing to bet the COST of the college education isn’t cost prohibitive…..in fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if college was FREE!!
Brazil’s public colleges are free….and they are about to increase their college educated populace by enacting AFFIRMATIVE ACTION!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/31/world/americas/brazil-enacts-affirmative-action-law-for-universities.html?src=recg
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
August 31st, 2012
4:00 pm
As with everything Obama, Tealiban, we are left wanting more.
Like execution and success.
Being the “fastest-growing” is like celebrating that we’re the tallest of the midgets.
EJ Moosa
August 31st, 2012
4:01 pm
” But, of course, aggregate coverage of the RNC across networks topped “Honey Boo Boo’s” numbers.”
Actually it is a shame that one group reports inaccurately, and that others, who should know better, do not question every single “fact” that they report.
Truth will be sacrificed if it supports the re-election of Obama.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
August 31st, 2012
4:03 pm
“Truth will be sacrificed if it supports the re-election of Obama.”
And truer words were never spoken.
Common Sense
August 31st, 2012
4:04 pm
This is the same rationale that the cons use to say Fox News is the most watched…
The same rationale? Tell us how. What sort of math are you using?
We were talking about an even across multiple channels compared to one show.
Fox compares one show to another.
md
August 31st, 2012
4:04 pm
“in fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if college was FREE!!”
It would definitely surprise me considering there is nothing that is “free”. Many countries in Europe include college as an entitlement, but they also have a tax rate around 50%……
Problem over here is folks want it to be “free” as long as others are paying for it………
Michael H. Smith
August 31st, 2012
4:06 pm
Truth will be sacrificed if it supports the re-election of Obama.
There aren’t enough altar in the world for that slaughter to take place.
southpaw
August 31st, 2012
4:10 pm
Tealiban @3:58
So is that rationale right or wrong? Did the RNC actually outpace Honey Boo Boo?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
August 31st, 2012
4:12 pm
Now it’s off to provide some non-government (as in efficient and without using debt) stimulus for the economy.
Keep the liberals herded, folks. They get a bit wild and wooly when some of us aren’t around to keep them (relatively) honest.
Michael H. Smith
August 31st, 2012
4:12 pm
Brazil’s public colleges are free….and they are about to increase their college educated populace by enacting AFFIRMATIVE ACTION!!
Yeah and that is the way socialist liberals LIE brucie!!
Nothing is FREE, not even in Communist countries. Somebody or many somebodies are paying for that state education in Brazil that you are so-calling “FREE”.
Obama is over
August 31st, 2012
4:18 pm
I didn’t watch all of the convention, but REALLY enjoyed watching the usual suspects in the AJC blog universe freak out over and over again- particularly after Ryan’s speech. The Obama team is scared. One conclusion of the convention is that the GOP has a much deeper bench than the Dems do. The only response the Dems have are personal attacks and the race card. Americans can see through that BS. Paul Ryan, Susana Martinez, Marco Rubio, Mitch Daniels, Bobby Jindal, Chris Christie are actually accomplishing things at the state level that Obama only dreams of. Just compare what is going on in Obama’s home state of Illinois to the surrounding state’s led by Republican Governors. Looking at the Charlotte convention speaker’s list makes you realize that Bill Clinton is the best member of their team and he isn’t running for office. Hillary will be far away from Charlotte. The Pelosi/Reid crowd are out of ideas, basically corrupt, and intellectually bankrupt. The next generation of Democratic leaders- Sandra Fluke, Lily Ledbetter, and Snooki (that Life of Julia character)- well we know what they have accomplished and it certainly won’t get the U.S. out of recession. The other big take away from the GOP convention for me is that Obama and his team can’t handle criticism. They have been sheltered by a friendly media, but when they are confronted with facts- like the fundamental flaws in Obamacare math- they try to blame Bush or play the race card. You are right that Romney is not the best speaker. However, when he outlined his five point agenda, he made sense and gave more detail than Obama has in four years. George (Ooompa Loompa) Stephanopolous will lob Obama softball social issue questions during the debates because he knows that Obama can’t handle questions about the economy (You didn’t build that), international affairs ( I will be more flexible when not running for office), energy ( $billions of program losses Keystone pipeline, private sector shale dominance), and the ability to accomplish bipartisan legislation ( No Federal budget for his entire term, fiscal cliff). Regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation, Ryan’s image of the 20 something year old college grad living in Mom and Pop’s basement frustrated about not being able to find a job is a sad memorable reflection of the Obama years. Obama has disappointed his backers from 2008 and has no plan for the future. The country can no longer afford to have a union puppet trying to adhere to yesterday’s business models or we will never get out of this recession. Obama is over his head is it is time for amateur hour to end.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 31st, 2012
5:12 pm
WSB had a man-on-the-street interview with an Obozo supporter who complained that President Romney “didn’t know what it’s like to be black because he’s been in business his whole life”.
Sad.
Ray
August 31st, 2012
5:19 pm
The biggest hurdle for Republicans has always been it’s extreme platform. Most republican voters support a women’s right to chose.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 31st, 2012
5:21 pm
HDB: I’m willing to bet the COST of the college education isn’t cost prohibitive…..in fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if college was FREE!!
———————
Point? Even our most expensive schools have many times more applicants than spots available.
There are probably two issues with our universities: Poorly prepared incoming freshmen, and students choosing lame majors with no future in terms of gainful employment.
DebbieDoRight - Dixie Chicks, Eleanor Roosevelt, Hillary Clinton, and Rosetta Scott King -- Unafraid To Say It; Unafraid To Do The Right Thing...
August 31st, 2012
5:30 pm
The message from the RNC, Cheese, was more JOBS
In China and India………
hsn
August 31st, 2012
5:33 pm
The Voting Rights Act
SEC. 4. (a) To assure that the right of citizens of the United States to vote is not denied or abridged on account of race or color, no citizen shall be denied the right to vote in any Federal, State, or local election because of his failure to comply with any test or device in any State
(c) The phrase “test or device” shall mean any requirement that a person as a prerequisite for voting or registration for voting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87NN5sdqNt8
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 31st, 2012
5:33 pm
Obozo’s been working on jobs for four year, right? Guess what–there are fewer of them today than the day he took office.
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
August 31st, 2012
5:38 pm
Mission accomplished, used it again, GOP established that we can do better than the Mistake.
The best line of the whole thing was Romney saying that the Obama philosophy is the same old big government solutions that have failed no matter where in the world they have been tried.
He said Obama big government solutions are what other people come here to get away from.
Kinda puts the old lib line about trickle down doesn’t work in perspective. Trickle down worked from 80 to 2007, pretty well I would say.
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
August 31st, 2012
5:41 pm
Isn’t it sad that the best you ever felt about voting for Obama, was when you were leaving the polling place.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 31st, 2012
5:42 pm
A whole bunch of government-run economies crashed, burned, and disappeared during that time, eh, Rafe.
getalife
August 31st, 2012
5:53 pm
The best part was when Clint said our President told robme to go f himself in front of the world.
Basically, a filthy rich guy lying about helping the middle class is one big joke.
They BOTH suck
August 31st, 2012
5:54 pm
“Isn’t it sad that the best you ever felt about voting for Obama, was when you were leaving the polling place.”
Are you speaking for other people or is that based on personal experience?
getalife
August 31st, 2012
6:39 pm
This sums it up:
http://www.trbimg.com/img-50406939/turbine/la-na-tt-romneys-convention-20120831-001/600
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
August 31st, 2012
7:00 pm
Both suck
Are you speaking for other people or is that based on personal experience?
Based on what people tell me. I have run into many who voted for Obama and plan to correct the Mistake this time. Haven’t had anyone tell me they voted for McCain and are sorry.
I have a good friend, who caught a great deal of grief over his vote for Obama. He was trying to justify it in Dec/Jan 2008, and he said he was so sick of Bush that he thought we needed a change. When he was asked about Obama’s radical promise to fundamentally change the America we love, his response was, can’t happen, Presidents never get to do much because of Congress. He said he wasn’t inline with Obama on much, but thought, he was a nice guy and would be mostly ineffective, so what difference did it make.
Well he has seen enough damage, to finally admit he made a terrible mistake.
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
August 31st, 2012
7:05 pm
Who the heck is Rosetta Scott King, I thought it was Coretta Scott King. I had a friend that named his daughter Coretta in her honor, did he screw it up?
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 31st, 2012
7:06 pm
DNC 2012: Dumbing it down
——————————————————
Watch the libtards and whack jobs pander to the loser class, promising to deliver the freebies and handouts, and stick it to the productive class.
Bruno
August 31st, 2012
7:06 pm
First, Clint Eastwood’s performance is a good example of why (I presume) he insists that the actors in his movies follow a script. There were some grand moments in there — “You, we, we own this country. … Politicians are employees of ours” being one of them — and the image of President Obama as an empty chair is going to have staying power in this campaign. But his 12-minute bit could have been done in much less time and been even more effective. As rambling and bizarre as Eastwood was at times, I don’t think he hurt Mitt Romney with his performance. He just didn’t help as much as he might have.
I tuned in to MSNBC late last night, and all I heard was how Clint Eastwood totally bombed. Ditto on yahoo.com this AM. I just watched the piece in its entirety, and quite frankly, I laughed my butt off–WITH Eastwood, and not AT him. He made numerous solid points and cut a few good jokes in between.
All I can say is that the Libs in this country are a bunch of tight-arses. The man was funny, give him his due.
Bruno
August 31st, 2012
7:11 pm
As for Romney’s speech, I only caught the end, and I thought it was fine. The best point to me was how he emphasized that we are the UNITED States of America, emphasis on UNITED. Since Day 1, Obama has gone out of his way to subdivide the country into special-interest groups based on race, wealth, political affinity, or what-have-ya. IMO, this has been extremely harmful to the collective psyche of the nation. We’ve come full circle from Kennedy’s “Ask what you can do for the country” back to “What can the country do for you??”
Don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m sick and tired of Obama and Libs in general. Bunch of whining losers in my book.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 31st, 2012
7:11 pm
Bruno, the libtard media script is pretty much written before the convention even takes place. Doesn’t matter how good the speeches are, it’s all doom, gloom, and fraudulent fact-checking.
Bruno
August 31st, 2012
7:15 pm
Watch the libtards and whack jobs pander to the loser class, promising to deliver the freebies and handouts, and stick it to the productive class.
LBB–Our experiment with “Governance By the Weak” has been a total failure in my book. Like the proverbial crabs in the bucket, the collective goal of the Libs has been to pull down the high earners, to make us all the same. I say let those high achieving crabs climb out of the bucket, and pull a bunch of us other crabs with them.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 31st, 2012
7:16 pm
Michelle Obama Presents Course: ‘Supermarket Shopping 101′
(CNSNews.com) – As part of her anti-obesity Let’s Move campaign, First Lady Michelle Obama is now presenting a brief online course: “Supermarket Shopping 101.”
The course, which now appears on the letsmove.gov website, provides novice shoppers with tips such as “steer clear of the cookie, snack and soda aisle.”
——————————
Hey moron Democrats, don’t forget to wipe after the morning constitutional too! Just in case you need help with that too.
Patty
August 31st, 2012
7:17 pm
Lord have mercy, you demos keep harping on Bush driving US into a depression when the truth is it was the demo congress. Just ask Representative Frank who tossed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac down the toilet and brought the housing market to it’s knees.
Bruno
August 31st, 2012
7:18 pm
Bruno, the libtard media script is pretty much written before the convention even takes place. Doesn’t matter how good the speeches are, it’s all doom, gloom, and fraudulent fact-checking.
Believe it or not, LBB, I thought the fairest Lib commentator on MSNBC last night was the Right Reverend Al Sharpton. Though he disagreed with the thrust of Romney’s speech, he was honest enough to say that Romney delivered well. In contrast, I thought Rachael Maddow did pretty much what you described. She planned to pan Romney’s speech no matter what based upon her own biases.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 31st, 2012
7:19 pm
I say let those high achieving crabs climb out of the bucket, and pull a bunch of us other crabs with them.
—————-
Some will, Bruno, and unfortunately it’s the very highest achieving ones who are most likely to make the leap.
Bruno
August 31st, 2012
7:21 pm
Lord have mercy, you demos keep harping on Bush driving US into a depression when the truth is it was the demo congress. Just ask
Patty–Though it’s intellectually easier to tie the state of the economy to one person–the President–I think a much stronger correlation exists between the state of the economy and who controls Congress. In the past 50 years or so, we have done far better with Republican dominated Congresses.
http://uspolitics.about.com/od/usgovernment/l/bl_party_division_2.htm
Bruno
August 31st, 2012
7:24 pm
In honor of Obama’s divisive Presidency, here’s my first song selection of the evening.
BTW, Kyle, good job on holding off on a new thread. My personal suggestion is to break out a new thread on Sat morning to allow us to unwind on Fri night with a little music. Too bad my buddy JamVet won’t be around to contribute.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf8jvSPA3XQ
Patty
August 31st, 2012
7:26 pm
“Kyle – I agree with you that Rubio gave a fine speech and came off very well. But tell me as a US Senator what has he and his party accomplished in the last four years besides fillibuster ever proposal by the other side? Has he passed any bills?”
Probably more than Obama did while he was in the Senate.
Bruno
August 31st, 2012
7:27 pm
He was trying to justify it in Dec/Jan 2008, and he said he was so sick of Bush that he thought we needed a change.
Rafe–Obama’s primary qualification to be President was that he wasn’t Bush. He certainly had no other substantial qualifications to award him the most important job on the planet.
A lot of Libs are still predicting an Obama landslide based on Romney’s inability to connect well with people, but I think people are going to vote with their wallets this go round.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 31st, 2012
7:32 pm
Inability to connect? I’m not looking for a damn soulmate, I’m looking for a President who can fix unemployment, the deficit, out of control entitlement spending, and get our AAA credit rating back.
Bruno
August 31st, 2012
7:32 pm
For my buddy, Jam, in case he’s tuning in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsS4FVP-uFI
My favorite Todd Rundgren song ^^^^^
Kyle Wingfield
August 31st, 2012
7:32 pm
Bruno @ 7:24: Well, I actually just published Sunday’s column upstairs. But y’all are welcome to keep the music going on this thread.
Patty
August 31st, 2012
7:34 pm
Bruno–totally agree with you on each of your points. People are tired of no one trying to get this country working; we’re tired of our homes continuing to lose value and we’re tired of being told that just because we have a different opinion than they do, we must be bigots or racists or something. Whatever happened to respectfully disagreeing?
Bruno
August 31st, 2012
7:42 pm
Bruno @ 7:24: Well, I actually just published Sunday’s column upstairs. But y’all are welcome to keep the music going on this thread.
Kyle–I sincerely appreciate you tolerance for some off-topic tunes on Friday nights. It gives us a chance to connect in a different way, and unites many of us who come from radically different political perspectives.
In case you didn’t know, JamVet and I are good friends away from the blog, and it all started with a musical connection. Music makes even stranger bedfellows than politics. If you can believe it, I’m a hard-core Dead Head.
Bruno
August 31st, 2012
7:48 pm
Some Lindsey Buckingham from 1984:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSU17vvq-Ts&feature=related
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
August 31st, 2012
7:49 pm
Bruno
I don’t normally do music, but this one is for you the music lover. I think you will like it. Failure all wrapped up in song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=tE0M9R1YXH0
Bruno
August 31st, 2012
7:53 pm
The original “Crystal” from Buckingham-Nicks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj3vayL4buo
@@
August 31st, 2012
7:54 pm
“The Republicans had the task at the convention of making their candidate more palatable, likeable to the American electorate,” said Ipsos pollster Julia Clark. “Our data suggests they have absolutely succeeded.”
Especially notable was Romney’s boost among independents, 45 percent of whom rated him favorably, compared with Thursday’s 34 percent. Twenty percent of independents found him likeable, up from Thursday’s 16 percent.
Although lagging behind Obama in most other favorable metrics, Romney continued to make headway in categories such as “represents America,” “understands people like me” and “is a good person.”
Respondents said Romney would be more effective than Obama as president by a margin of 37 percent to 33 percent. The margin was even wider among independents, at 26 percent versus 17 percent.
Winning “independence.”
Bruno
August 31st, 2012
7:55 pm
Rafe–Thanks for the entry, and hope you choose to continuing posting some music on Fridays. It gives us a chance to see other sides of the posters. I just hope that Kyle might find a way to let us keep the fun going without cutting into his new threads.
@@
August 31st, 2012
8:00 pm
Oops! Just saw where this is now the music thread.
Don’t have any tonight.