The evening was full of boisterous speeches from Republican party elites who tried to make the case that our president has failed us, but Mitt Romney will succeed.
Perhaps the most highly anticipated speech of the night was from Mitt Romney's wife, Ann. Expectations were high. She was given the task to humanize her husband and let people see a side of their lives, which has been branded by many as out-of-touch.
As Ann Romney took the stage, she looked radiant. Her striking red dress caught our attention, but her calm and reassuring demeanor captured our interest and respect.
She spoke from the heart. She eloquently described her life with the boy she fell in love with at the age of 15. She talked about the humble beginning to their marriage in a basement apartment with a desk made from a door propped on saw horses and their fold-down ironing board used as a kitchen table.
She described what it was like to be a young mom and the loneliness she felt as she supported her husband in his years of school and then stood by his side as he and a couple of friends worked tireless hours to launch their new business---a business which would later prove to be one of the most successful private equity firms in the world.
She described her struggle with the debilitating disease Multiple Sclerosis and her battle with Breast Cancer. She said, "I read somewhere that Mitt and I have a 'storybook marriage.' Well, in the storybooks I read, there were never long, long, rainy winter afternoons in a house with five boys screaming at once. And those storybooks never seemed to have a chapter called MS or Breast Cancer.
"A storybook marriage? No, not at all. What Mitt and I have is a real marriage."
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| Image from thenewyorker.com |
Knowing that the Obama camp has ruthlessly tried to portray Mitt Romney's success at Bain Capital as a weakness, she addressed it head-on. She said, "The jobs that grew from risks they took have become college educations, first homes. That success has helped fund scholarships, pensions, and retirement funds. This is the genius of America: dreams fulfilled help others launch new dreams."
She proudly highlighted Mitt's successful career and reminded Americans that to attack it is a foolish attempt to distract. She said, "Let's be honest, if the last four years had been more successful, do we really think that there would be this attack on Mitt Romney's success? Of course not."
In a subtle knock on the president, with his incessant blaming of his George Bush and his failed attempts fix things, she said, "We're too smart to know that there aren't easy answers, but we are not dumb enough to accept that there aren't better answers."
Wow.
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| Image from Foxnews.com |
One of the most poignant moments of her speech came when she subtly addressed their wealth and financial status. She said, "Mitt doesn't like to talk about how he has helped others because he sees it as a privilege and not a political talking point. We are not different than the millions of Americans who quietly help their neighbors, their churches and their communities. They don't do it so that others will think more of them. They do it because there is no greater joy. 'Give and it shall be given unto you.'"
It was a powerful moment.
As she finished up her well-received speech, she encouraged America to get to know her husband and said that we can have full confidence that he will lead our country out of this stagnant economic recovery. Looking straight into the camera, she firmly said, "I can stand here tonight as a wife, a mother, a grandmother and an American and I make you this solemn commitment: This man will not fail."
Ann Romney exceeded expectations. She connected. She delivered. She nailed it.
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| Image from Bostonglobe.com |
Her words cast a light on the character of these two people, the lives that they lead, the exemplary children they have raised and the influence for good they are having on the people around them. She was seen as a respectable, likable and caring woman who has experienced trials and struggles which few can imagine, but she has endured it all with dignity and grace.
Perhaps the most important imagery to emerge from her speech? Mitt Romney has been at her side through it all.
Her speech had an impact. The media is in a spinning frenzy today because much to their dismay, the real Mitt Romney is beginning to emerge and I am confident that Americans are going to love what they see.
Go Mitt.
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