"Mr. Chairman, delegates. I accept your nomination for President of the United States of America. I do so with humility, deeply moved by the trust you have placed in me. It is a great honor. It is an even greater responsibility."
While juxtaposing his VP nominee's speech of the prior evening, Romney's approach tonight countered that of Obama's soaring rhetoric with a solid, effective appeal to ALL Americans: let's get this country working again, and let's do that by first understanding where we went wrong four years ago...
"Four years ago, I know that many Americans felt a fresh excitement about the possibilities of a new president. That president was not the choice of our party but Americans always come together after elections. We are a good and generous people who are united by so much more than what divides us."
"When that hard fought election was over, when the yard signs came down and the television commercials finally came off the air, Americans were eager to go back to work, to live our lives the way Americans always have – optimistic and positive and confident in the future."
"That very optimism is uniquely American."
"But today, four years from the excitement of the last election, for the first time, the majority of Americans now doubt that our children will have a better future."
"It is not what we were promised."
"I wish President Obama had succeeded because I want America to succeed. 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. With your help we will do something."
"Now is the moment when we can stand up and say, “I’m an American. I make my destiny. And we deserve better! My children deserve better! My family deserves better. My country deserves better!”"
Romney delivered a magnificent line while memorializing Neil Armstrong that really illuminated 'that unique blend of optimism, humility, and the utter confidence' of the American spirit...
"...when the world needs someone to do the really big stuff, you need an American."
You know it!
Then after elaborating on his baby boomer roots, particularly focusing on some very sentimental stories surrounding his parents, Romney spoke of the strengths of America through the greatness of its communities, families and faiths, how this bedrock brings out the best in us, but also how for far too many Americans, "these good days are harder to come by." It was at this point in which Romney's focus turned to those not at the convention, and those who likely voted for his opponent four years ago...
"How many days have you woken up feeling that something really special was happening in America? Many of you felt that way on Election Day four years ago. Hope and Change had a powerful appeal. But tonight I'd ask a simple question: If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn’t you feel that way now that he’s President Obama? You know there’s something wrong with the kind of job he’s done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him."
Exactly. After expressing Obama's lack of basic qualifications, devoid of business experience, and stating that "Jobs to him are about government," Romney owned up to his extraordinary record of business experience, embracing his work at Bain Capital, which helped to start familiar American companies like Staples, The Sports Authority, Bright Horizons (praised by Michelle Obama), and Steel Dynamics, one of the largest steel producers in the US. And while celebrating these American success stories, Romney juxtaposed Obama's perspective...
"These are American success stories. And yet the centerpiece of the President’s entire re-election 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 it."
"We weren’t always successful at Bain. But no one ever is in the real world of business."
"That’s what this President doesn’t seem to understand. Business and growing jobs is about taking risk, sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding, but always striving. It is about dreams. ... It’s the genius of the American free enterprise system – to harness the extraordinary creativity and talent and industry of the American people with a system that is dedicated to creating tomorrow’s prosperity rather than trying to redistribute today's."
Yep! Then targeting the root of the economic slowdown, Romney emphasized the obvious uncomplicated ailment of our country...
"It doesn't take a special government commission to tell us what America needs. What America needs is jobs. Lots of jobs."
After going over all the ways Obama's policies have not helped create jobs, but depressed them, Romney gave a stark message to every voter out there:
"To the majority of Americans who now believe that the future will not be better than the past, I can guarantee you this: if Barack Obama is re-elected, you will be right."
However, for those who seek a better future, Romney laid out the five planks of his plan to generate 12 million new jobs:
"First, by 2020, North America will be energy independent by taking full advantage of our oil and coal and gas and nuclear and renewables."
"Second, we will give our fellow citizens the skills they need for the jobs of today and the careers of tomorrow. When it comes to the school your child will attend, every parent should have a choice, and every child should have a chance."
"Third, we will make trade work for America by forging new trade agreements. And when nations cheat in trade, there will be unmistakable consequences."
"Fourth, 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 fifth, 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."
After rounding out the rest of the expected Republican pledges, most of which encompass those core issues attacked by Democrats recently (protecting the sanctity of life, honoring the institution of marriage, guaranteeing the freedom of religion...you know, everything we'll see mocked & opposed next week at the Democrat Convention!), Romney offered an excellent contrasting zinger...what some would say was the 'line of the night':
"President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans...and heal the planet.... MY promise is to help you and your family."
Transitioning from the emphasis on jobs to foreign policy, Romney stirred feelings from that speech of Condi's last night...
"I will begin my presidency with a jobs tour. President Obama began with an apology tour. America, he said, had dictated to other nations. No Mr. President, America has freed other nations from dictators."
"Every American was relieved the day President Obama gave the order, and Seal Team Six took out Osama bin Laden. But on another front, every American is less secure today because he has failed to slow Iran's nuclear threat."
"President Obama has thrown allies like Israel under the bus, even as he has relaxed sanctions on Castro's Cuba. He abandoned our friends in Poland by walking away from our missile defense commitments, but is eager to give Russia's President Putin the flexibility he desires, after the election. Under my administration, our friends will see more loyalty, and Mr. Putin will see a little less flexibility and more backbone."
"We will honor America’s democratic ideals because a free world is a more peaceful world. This is the bipartisan foreign policy legacy of Truman and Reagan. And under my presidency we will return to it once again."
Peace Through Strength, baby!
Romney concluded his speech, first with a series of Q & A responses for the delegates, listing detriments that our country finds itself lingering in under the current administration, but that we'd obviously rather see turned around, then concluding with a stirring call of unity...
"The America we all know has been a story of the many becoming one, uniting to preserve liberty, uniting to build the greatest economy in the world, uniting to save the world from unspeakable darkness."
"Everywhere I go in America, there are monuments that list those who have given their lives for America. There is no mention of their race, their party affiliation, or what they did for a living. They lived and died under a single flag, fighting for a single purpose. They pledged allegiance to the UNITED States of America."
"That America, that united America, can unleash an economy that will put Americans back to work, that will once again lead the world with innovation and productivity, and that will restore every father and mother's confidence that their children's future is brighter even than the past."
"That America, that united America, will preserve a military that is so strong, no nation would ever dare to test it."
"That America, that united America, will uphold the constellation of rights that were endowed by our Creator, and codified in our Constitution."
"That united America will care for the poor and the sick, will honor and respect the elderly, and will give a helping hand to those in need."
"That America is the best within each of us. That America we want for our children."
"If I am elected President of these United States, I will work with all my energy and soul to restore that America, to lift our eyes to a better future. That future is our destiny. That future is out there. It is waiting for us. Our children deserve it, our nation depends upon it, the peace and freedom of the world require it. And with your help we will deliver it. Let us begin that future together tonight."
Now, I'm not gonna lie, anyone who knows me knows that I would tend to lean towards the stronger tone of that impassioned speech that Paul Ryan gave Wednesday night. And though I thought there were a few moments tonight that could have been given the contracted treatment (i.e., the obvious & overemphasized 'compassionate' segments towards the beginning), I nonetheless thought this was a very solid delivery that quickly strengthened as its delivery progressed. This speech went a long way in humanizing the GOP nominee that much more, contrasting the Democratic media's image and introducing our next Commander-in-Chief to those on the fence who felt more confident Thursday night in saying, 'I can see that guy as President'. Also, in more ways than one, particularly on the economy and business, but even in foreign affairs, Mitt Romney proved that he gets it.
Additional Sources: FoxNews
