Mitt Romney, giving his nomination acceptance speech Thursday night in Tampa, Fla., said the “excitement” of President Obama’s election has now given way to serious doubt about the future.
“For the first time, the majority of Americans now doubt that our children will have a better future,” he said.
The address was to serve as Republicans’ closing argument before Democrats fire back with their rebuttal at the convention next week in Charlotte. The Romney campaign’s attention will immediately pivot to countering the Democrats' message out of North Carolina, as the Obama campaign has done throughout this week during Republicans’ gala in Tampa.
The lead-up to Romney’s speech Thursday was filled with speeches, videos and tributes aimed at filling out the Mitt Romney story and personalizing the candidate. One couple, in a touching story, told of how Romney helped draft a will for their terminally ill son so he could pass down his treasured belongings to his friends and brother. Olympians from the 2002 Salt Lake City games, which Romney led, later took the stage to vouch for the nominee.
Other segments of the program highlighted his record at Bain Capital, stressing the jobs created through the private equity firm in a bid to counter Democratic ads that highlight Bain-tied businesses that failed.
The one deviation from the theme came toward the end, when Clint Eastwood strolled on stage – proving true the rumors that he was the convention’s “surprise” speaker – and engaged in a wicked debate with an empty chair that was supposed to represent Obama.
He concluded: “When somebody does not do the job, we gotta let ‘em go.”
