If Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention Thursday night was a piece of steak, it would have been a small portion, grilled over a low flame and served medium. A sampling of local political reaction to the speech indicates that, like steak, observers have their preference.
“You can come out of these speeches with a five- or six-point bounce with a dynamic speech that had some real one-liners,” said Republican activist and consultant Chris Tiedeman. “That was clearly not the focus. It was to lay out the conversation for the rest of the campaign.”
Tiedeman had met Romney four years ago in a small-group setting where, he said, Romney was less impressive than others vying for the nomination in 2008. Tiedeman saw a big change last night.
“I thought he was great last night,” he said. “He had a number of points he had to make. He’s a business guy and he made it clear that was going to be his focus.”
Carrie Lucking, executive director for Alliance for a Better Minnesota, a group that works on behalf of DFL candidates, viewed the Romney speech as a glass half-empty. “It was better than most people expected, but light on substance -- and most of that substance was policies that haven’t worked,” she said.
Lucking said the convention itself didn’t serve Romney well. “There was no consensus on a path forward or a vision on how to turn things around,” she said.
Some of that lack of consensus was evident in the floor fight among delegates over a change in party rules that would require states to bind their delegates to the clear front-runner in a nomination race. No one was angrier with that rule than the Minnesota delegates pledged to Ron Paul.
Marianne Stebbins, a delegate and chair of Paul’s Minnesota campaign, said she hopes Romney will use his new position as nominee to change the rule. “This is the RNC stomping on grass roots,” she said, the people who will be needed to help Romney win. Those potential voters are “up in arms,” she said.
If Stebbins is correct on discontent among the Paul delegates, Romney’s speech didn’t change much. “The speech was less successful as an inspiring speech to motivate people to get out there and win the election,” said Dale Carpenter, a Republican active in the campaign to defeat the marriage amendment and law professor at the University of Minnesota.
But Carpenter agrees with Tiedeman that Romney emphasized the right issues: the economy and jobs. “I’m also glad he avoided extended treatment of hot button social issues,” he said.
REUTERS/Jason ReedActor Clint Eastwood addressing an empty chair during the final night of the Republican National Convention.
Romney’s comments on social issues were limited to one line about the sanctity of life and marriage.
Romney’s image -- or the “optics,” as political consultants like to phrase it -- played well for Carpenter, Tiedeman and Stebbins.
“In terms of him personally, I’m glad he avoided playing the candidate he is not,” said Carpenter. “America does not need a loveable president, they need a competent president.”
Stebbins said: “I think there was a lot of nice optimism. He’s very upbeat, positive in contrasting himself with Barack Obama. But I was listening for content, and I didn’t hear a lot. I was listening for some kind of acknowledgement that he was interested in bring the liberty votes to the table.”
Romney didn’t mention the liberty votes, and barely even used the word “liberty,” but he did spend a considerable amount of time lauding women and their influence in his personal and professional life.
“A bit forced,” is how Carpenter reacted.
Lucking dismissed the those parts of the speech. “No matter how many women inspired Mitt Romney, his policies turn back the clock for women,” she said.
Lucking and Tiedeman agree that Romney’s statement “I wish President Obama had succeeded because I want America to succeed” sounded a note Americans want to hear.
“Republicans realize that Americans are angry with people who say they want the president to fail,” said Lucking.
“I think the point he was trying to make, and he did it well, is that everybody had high hopes for Obama even if they didn’t vote for him because we are Americans,” said Tiedeman.
But as a piece of stagecraft, a crescendo of words and thoughts that soared and stirred and sealed the deal for an undecided voter, Romney’s speech fell short.
“It was a perfectly workmanlike effort,” Carpenter said. “Nobody will remember it in a month. Probably a week.”