ROMNEY ACCEPTS GOP NOMINATION, PLEDGES “BETTER FUTURE” FOR AMERICA

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Ryan speech draws media criticism for factual errors

By Miriam Raftery

August 30, 2012 (Tampa) -- "I am running for president to help create a better future,” Mitt Romney declared, accepting his party’s presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention.  (View speech:  http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7419730n&tag=mg;mostpopvideo )

 Delayed a day by Hurricane Isaac,  the convention concluded with Romney assailing President Barack Obama on everything from the economy to global warming policy, then pledging to focus on jobs and family if elected. 

Alluding to criticisms of his wealth and ties to Bain Capital, Romney remarked, “In America, we celebrate success, we don’t apologize for it.” He pledged to roll back Obama healthcare reforms and laid out additional goals if elected. (View highlights of the speech in the Washington Post):  http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mitt-romney-to-deliver-the-speech-of-his-life-at-gop-convention/2012/08/30/54ae2108-f2a8-11e1-892d-bc92fee603a7_story.html?hpid=z2

The Obama campaign responded with a webpage and videos of its own, faulting Romney’s economics as “wrong for the middle class.” (View Obama campaign’s response: http://www.barackobama.com/romney-convention?source=20120828_dnc_headline )

Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan delivered a speech to the party faithful (View Ryan speech http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7419860n&tag=pop;videos ) but drew sharp criticism for playing fast and loose with facts.  

Fox News aired a contributor piece describing Ryan’s speech in three words:  dazzling, deceiving, and distracting:  http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/08/30/paul-ryans-speech-in-three-words/?intcmp=trending 

Ron Paul delegates staged a raucous protest at the RNC while Paul himself walked out of the convention after the GOP aired an endorsement video by his son that misrepresented Paul’s views:  http://video.msnbc.msn.com/msnbc/48835377/  

Ann Romney’s speech at the RNC sought to shore up the party’s gender gap with women (View her speech: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7419730n&tag=mg;mostpopvideo ).  Romney’s campaign has suffered a gender gap following attention drawn to the party’s platform calling for a ban on abortions even for victims of rape and women whose lives are in danger, a perception exacerbated by Rep. Todd Akin’s remarks about “legitimate rape” and VP candidate Ryan’s bill to grant “personhood” rights to fertilized eggs.  

Romney, who some have painted as a wealthy corporatist, has refused to disclose his income tax returns.  His remarks to the RNC that  “I’m not very concerned about the poor” did nothing to dispel that image:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/01/mitt-romney-very-poor_n_1246557.html

Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice praised Romney on foreign policy, adding that the U.S. has “no choice but to lead.”  (View Rice’s speech: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-condoleezza-rice-gop-speech-20120829,0,2753684.story )

In perhaps the most bizarre moment of the convention, Actor Clint Eastwood’s  debate with an empty chair (Details and video: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/clint-eastwood-strange-address-invisible-obama-rnc-023242832--election.html )  earned him a “thumbs down” from film critic Roger Ebert:  http://www.politico.com/blogs/click/2012/08/roger-ebert-eastwood-speech-was-sad-133923.html

In the expected post-convention “bounce,” Romney has taken a small lead in the latest Reuters/Ipso poll:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/30/poll-romney-takes-lead-ov_n_1844512.html   Whether that lead will hold after the upcoming Democratic convention and most importantly the November election remains to be seen.

 


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