Mitt addressing the faitrhful
This was Mitt Romney’s big night. We live in an era of celebrities and often we treat our politicians as if they are celebrity. Obama is the classic celebrity-President, a man who has managed to reach the highest office with the barest of qualifications. When Obama talked of healing the planet, Romney talked of helping your family. Romney is the anti-celebrity, a man who prizes competence and qualifications as opposed to celebrity.
Romney ended the Republican convention by following through the on theme that success is good, and he did something he should have done earlier: he owned up to the success of Bain Capital. No more apologies but a straight forward defense of a company that has helped many companies survive and because of that many jobs were created or saved. He told the stories of those companies, Staples in which he quipped Obama’s campaign shopped at or a how a Steel company was formed in the corn fields of Indiana.
This was not a speech for policy wonks but it didn’t have to be. Instead it was a personal speech that moved into an idea speech beginning with defending success and the defense of free market economies. The strength of this speech was not anger but regrets as he made the case; it is okay to be disappointed with Obama and here is why you should be. These lines make this point:
“To forget about what might have been and to look ahead to what can be. Now is the time to restore the Promise of America. Many Americans have given up on this president but they haven’t ever thought about giving up. Not on themselves. Not on each other. And not on America. What is needed in our country today is not complicated or profound. It doesn’t take a special government commission to tell us what America needs. What America needs is jobs. Lots of jobs.”
Clint Speaking at the Convention
Romney’s goals include:
“To assure every entrepreneur and every job creator that their investments in America will not vanish as have those in Greece, we will cut the deficit and put America on track to a balanced budget…And we will champion SMALL businesses, America’s engine of job growth. That means reducing taxes on business, not raising them. It means simplifying and modernizing the regulations that hurt small business the most. And it means that we must rein in the skyrocketing cost of healthcare by repealing and replacing Obamacare.”
There is one theme that started permeated this convention, rights are not gifts provided by government but are endowed by God and belong to all. If a government provides rights, they can also take those rights away. Romney and Ryan are making a larger point that Clint Eastwood put in simple terms, “We own this country, politicians are our employee and if they don’t do the job, let them go.” Underneath the defense of success is the thought our wealth belongs to us and is not the property of the government.
Finally, Romney hit a nerve that is beneath the surface, are we still a great country? There is a feeling that we have seen our best days but Romney made a Reaganesque case that America still has great days ahead. It was speech that spoke to the optimism that drives America that tomorrow will be a better day. I remember a manager telling his staff that today was the first day of the rest of your life. For him, tomorrow will bring new opportunities and you can always start over. So can America.
Facebook
Twitter
I thought Clint Eastwood stole the show; he was so respectful and professional and set the perfect tone for the RNC finale. While it was difficult at times to figure out what Eastwood was saying as he mumbled incoherently, and while some stodgy folks may believe that the President should be treated with a little more respect than to be told to “shut up” on national television, and for those with no sense of humor who can’t appreciate a few light-hearted jokes implying that the President would tell Romney to f**k himself, I thought that such an innovative unscripted 11 minute lead-in to the broadcast television introduction of the Republican nominee for President of the United States was a true reflection of the level of competence of this Republican Party. It was great that 90 million Americans had the opportunity to witness this spectacle first-hand and get such an insight into the way the Republican Party views our nation’s serious challenges and handles their own most important matters.
All I can say is, I am so glad that Clint Eastwood is a Hollywood Republican and not a Hollywood Democrat!
But the good news, is no one will remember the first 9 minute of the talk but the last line, “We own the countries, politicians are our employees and if they don’t do the job, let them go.” The rest will be forgotten.
Actually, the good news for Romney is that no one today on any news outlet was talking about his speech, they were all talking about Eastwood. So no one was discussing Romney’s total lack of any policies, plans or vision for the country. Personally, I thought the high point of Romney’s speech was his 5-point plan to create 12 million jobs that had absolutely nothing to do with creating any jobs and was not actually even a plan. After that, it was pretty much all cliches, platitudes, and nostalgia pining away for a time in our past that never existed, except on Ozzie & Harriett episodes.
I heard many pundits today criticizing the Republican Party for their ineptitude regarding Eastwood, for their apparent total lack of professionalism and their almost child-like decision-making. However, I am of the school of thought that the Eastwood appearance was a brilliant planned diversion by the Party intended so that no one would notice Romney’s vacuousness.
You know something David, At what time in President Obama’s campaign did he have specific plans and policies? Not during his campaign of “Hope and Change”. Not a single policy was mentioned until he took office in 2008,What some people don’t understand is the Mitt Romney is trying to make us to once again believe in America!!
You mean the pundits from MSNBC? Please, you will find that Eastwood did more good than harm, the chattering class not withstanding. Besides Romney speech was good and speeches like these are not designed for policy wonks but give reasons for voters to trust and vote for your guy. The only reason the chattering class are talking Eastwood is because Romney did so well. 53-47 Romney. Oh yeah, I notice that Hillary is out of town, way out of town. lol
One thing I just don’t understand is why Romney/Ryan have chosen to focus their campaign on lies. Although I am a supporter of President Obama, I could structure a strong opposition campaign based on areas where the President has come up short without resorting to lies, why don’t they?
Romney launched his campaign with a series of ads that totally took the President’s quote of McCain talking about the economy out of context and falsely attributed McCain’s words to the President. Then, they made the centerpiece of their entire campaign the “built it” storyline that is a complete distortion of what the President actually said. More recently, they have totally lied and mislead regarding the welfare waiver policy the President has implemented. And there are more…
I just don’t get it, why lie when there is plenty of truth to go around? In my life experience, those who lie often do so because dealing with the truth takes more effort. Are the Republican nominees just lazy, or are they pathological?
I just simply suggest you read Ryan’s speech and listen to all of President Obama’s “We Built It” speech. Obama’s speech actually taken in full context is even worse than the simple, “We Built It.” After you’ve done your homework and stopped reading talking points, then prove to me their lying?
If you read the entire speech,it is far worse what the GOP described. It is an insulting mocking speech and goes up with there clinging to God and Guns talk during the 2008 PA Primary. But I have made that point already.
It was nice to see Romney in his speech set his Bain record straight from Obama lies including the famous he gave some poor woman cancer. But if I had to defend the Obama record, I would be lying about Romney too. As I mention, you should work for Team Obama since you can defend the indefensible better than they can. You can have the last word since you won’t get that at home. lol.
I watched the entire speech. Apparently, you guys on the “right” hear things that aren’t said and see things that aren’t there. There must be some kind of subliminal tone embedded in President Obama’s speeches that the rest of us can’t detect by just reading the actual words on the page. I think it is called a preconceived notion.
Clint Eastwood ROCKS!!! He adlibbed, did an audition stunt like anyone who’s had to audition…and pulled it off masterfully! An empty chair…he drew the audience into the made-up scene. Expert! An artist, painting a canvas! Not a pin was heard to be dropped…why, because everybody was slack-jawed!
“Tell him, what???…I can’t tell hime to do that!! Stick his head where?” Priceless!
Quintessential Eastwood!!!!! And he deadpanned it,too!!! A Genius. An accomplished jazz piano player. Director, Actor and Oscar winner!!!
Clint ROCKS!
I respect the Presidency. Apparently not everyone else does.
Did you respect it when Mr. Bush was in office? Or, did you bash him in ways much worse than any Conservative has ever bashed Mr. Obama? Another case of the pot calling the kettle black.