Posted on 08/31/2012 12:54:46 PM PDT by tcg
The shortened Republican convention ended and the general election campaign of the Romney/Ryan Ticket was launched. The final evening was intended to "humanize" Mitt Romney against a sea of attacks from his opponents attempting to turn him into a caricature of the manacled Monopoly man who cares more for money than he does for the poor.
Those attacks have been waged with reckless abandon, attempting to paint Romney as a new Ebenezer Scrooge, from the Dickens Christmas Carol - before Scrooges other worldly encounter. We are all to supposed to believe that he is an uncaring "vulture capitalist" who - if elected - will treat American workers like Scrooge treated Bob Cratchit.
On that front, the evening succeeded - even if the brief and bizarre interlude from Actor Clint Eastwood almost derailed the effort.
The first major presentation of the evening was given by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. He presented Mitt Romney's educational commitment to "put students first' by delivering an excellent apologetic for parental choice in education. He called for what amounts to a reformation of the American educational enterprise.
This excellent speech displayed the former Governors potential for future public service. Did anyone else see "Secretary of Education?" should Romney become our next President? ...
(Excerpt) Read more at catholic.org ...
There was one particular line which stuck with me from the Romney acceptance speech because it was a refreshing rejection of the hyperbole which accompanied the last Presidential race in the United States. The Republican Presidental candidate looked out at the enthusiastic convention attendees and, through television and the internet, into the living rooms of millions of Americans as well as millions of observers around the world. He offered what would be called in the business world a bottom line comment, "President Obama promised to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the planet. My promise is ... to help you and your family."
That sounded awfully close to, “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”...........
In return, we need to NEVER allow an ass in the white house like there is right now.
I couldn’t watch Romney’s speech last night because I’m on a magazine writing assignment in Honduras. But, from the response on FR, I have a feeling the speech was pretty much a bust. Am I right or wrong about that?
I thought it was a bit tepid, but otherwise concise and to the point............
My a$$. It was one of the highlights of the evening.
The speech was excellent! It provided great insight into his upbringing and view of America as the land of the free. To cite some examples:
I was born in the middle of the century, in the middle of the country, the classic baby boomer. It was a time when Americans were returning from war and eager to work. To be an American was to assume that all things were possible. When President Kennedy challenged Americans to go to the moon, the challenge was not whether we would get there, it was only when we'd get there. The soles of Neil Armstrong's on the moon made permanent impressions on our souls. And I watched those steps together on her parents sofa. Like all American is, we went to bed at night knowing we lived in the greatest country in the history of the world. Tonight, that American flag is still there on the Moon. and I don't doubt for a second that Neil Armstrong's spirit is still with us. That unique blend of optimism, humility, and the utter confidence that, when the world needs someone to do that, you need an American.
That truly resonated with me because I share that same memory and background. Mitt spoke about the relationship between his mother and father. He said:
My mom and dad were married for 64 years . And if you wondered what their secret was, you could have asked the local florist. Because every day, dad gave mom a Rose, which he put on the bedside table. That is how she found that the day my father died. She went looking for him because, that morning, there was no rose.
This shed additional light on the poignancy of his parents and the love they shared with their children. He passed that love along to his children and his grandchildren. He spoke of his business experience and ... yes ... talked about the success stories that have come from Bain Capital.
That business we started with 10 people has now grown into a great American success story. 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? In America, we celebrate success. We don't apologize for success.
Mitt then addressed the past 4 years under Obama. He said:
In the richest country in the history of the world, this Obama economy has crushed the middle class. Family income has fallen by $4,000 , but health insurance premiums are higher. Food prices are higher. Utility bills are higher, and gasoline prices, they've doubled. Today more Americans wake up in poverty than ever before. Nearly one out of six Americans is living in poverty. Look around you -- these aren't strangers. These are our brothers and sisters, our fellow Americans. His policies have not helped create jobs. They've depressed them, and this I can tell you about where President Obama would take America. His plan to put taxes on small businesses won't add jobs. It will eliminate them. His assault on coal and gas and oil will send energy and manufacturing jobs to China. His trillion dollar cuts to our military will eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs and also put our security at greater risk. His $716 billion cut to Medicare to finance Obamacare will hurt today's seniors and depress innovation in jobs and medicines. And his trillion dollar deficits, they slow our economy, restrain employment, and cause wages to stall. To the majority of Americans who now believe the future will not be better than the past, I can guarantee you this -- if Barack Obama is reelected, you will be right.
Romney then went on to outline his 5 point plan to restore America. He continued with his vision on social issues:
As president, I'll respect the sanctity of life. I'll honor the institution of marriage. And I will guarantee America's first liberty, the freedom of religion.
Perhaps the most memorable line from his speech was this:
President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans. And to heal the planet. My promise is to help you and your family. I will begin my presidency with the jobs tour. President Obama began his with an apology to our. America he said had dictated to other nations. No, Mr. President America has feed other nations from dictators.
You can read the full transcript here .
Agreed. I think Romney did a fine job. You at least have to give him this — he’s a better speaker than GW.
I also feel I know him better — know of his personal character. I think the Romneys are good folks in general ..ESPECIALLY when you compare his life to the fool we have now. There’s no comparison, in my mind.
I think it will sway some fence sitters.
It was a good speech, I have to give him credit.
I don’t need any help, and I don’t need any hugs...
Just leave me the hell alone.
Mitt Romney does an awful lot of posturing and posing for the convention and TV. The posing looks fake and phony. The smiles don’t seem to be sincere.
WHen he talked about his Dad (RIP) he was holding back tears otherwise a very business, to the point speech, mustly finding the problems and creating solutions. I liked everything he had to say...
We don’t need any help from Romney or other socialist politicians. The bipartisan political/regulator folks (the only constituents served by those politicians) need to stop violating our families and property rights. They should close and abolish all of the social/regulatory programs that they use to prevent domestic competition from working class families (public education, their pushing of social pathologies against men, anti-veteran sentiments, rural zoning—all of it).
Otherwise, they’ll soon have no real revenues at all—only debt.
Thank you to all who responded to my request. Owning a home in Honduras, I am out of the US a good bit. And because of good, decent, sincere, and straight-forward folks like those of you who responded to my request — and all who post so faithfully — FR is always the first place I turn each and every morning for news and views. God bless you all!
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