The Republican National Convention

 This past week, Mitt Romney and his fellow campaign members took to the stage in Tampa, Florida at the Republican National Convention (RNC). I will be able to vote in this election, which has spurred a sudden interest in politics for me. So, for four days, I sat in front of the TV and watched the RNC. The following is a brief overview on what I took away from the convention, trying to be as unbiased as possible.

Going into this convention, Romney and his teammates had a huge task ahead of him. The goals of the RNC, to me, were to humanize Mitt Romney as well as appeal to the women across America. My favorite speech of the entire RNC did not come from Romney, but from his wife, Ann. Ann Romney struck me as a very genuine woman with good intentions and a strong belief in her husband and his capabilities. I found her speech very effective in not only helping Mitt appeal to women, but giving the impression to America that the Romney's are a well rounded family that deeply care for one another. I was intently listening to her speech from beginning to end. I also rather enjoyed Condolisa Rice's speech and applaud her for not using a teleprompter. Brava. Seems to me like the women dominated this convention, at least speech wise.

In an attempt to humanize Governor Romney, two couples told their heartfelt stories about how Romney had helped them through some very rough times in their lives, such as helping a 14-year old boy write his will to make sure his skateboard would be delivered to his best friend when he passed. To me, this was the most successful part of the Convention. These stories were very genuine and heartfelt and gave the audience a deeper and more personal look into the life of Governor Romney and his contributions to the community.

Clint Eastwood made a guest appearance just minutes before Romney made his speech, and I must say it was rather interesting. As a Hollywood star, one would assume that he would be pretty liberal in his political views. However, Eastwood spent most of his speech talking to an empty chair where Obama "sat" in an old fashioned style comedy routine. While it was very entertaining and kept me tuned, Eastwood delivered some pretty harsh blows to the President. Some analysts were worried that Eastwood may have taken the spotlight of the entire convention, but I disagree. Although it was a nice comedic relief and distraction, I didn't think that Clint Eastwood stole the spotlight.

When it finally came time for Romney's speech on the last night of the convention, I was pumped. I was really looking forward to what he had to say and gathering more knowledge for the upcoming election. Although the speech didn't have much for me to criticize, it also was not particularly captivating. I found myself drifting off in thought, unlike in the prior speeches. However, I paid attention enough to catch some of his main points. With a few subtle attacks at President Obama and a few more that were a little harsh, Romney made it clear that he is ready to change the operations of the White House. He mentioned a "5-step plan" to get the economy on track, reduce the deficit, and create 26 million jobs...but he did not give any specifics to the audience. While I know that policy was not the primary goal of this convention, I was slightly disappointed not to hear any specifics from the Governor. I suppose that I will have to stay tuned for the upcoming debates as this election process continues.

Overall, I think that the RNC was a success. The Romney and Ryan families were presented as well grounded and genuine and confident in one another. I really enjoyed the RNC's slogan, "We Built It" as I thought it spoke accurately and directly to both the Republican ideals as well as a retort to President Obama's comments. This week, President Obama and Democrats will take the stage and you can bet your booty that I will be watching all four days of the convention. Stay tuned for my thoughts next Monday. :)