The Republican National Convention is properly underway today*, where Mitt Romney will try to introduce himself to an America that still doesn’t really know him. The race is close: Romney leads 47-46 in a Gallup poll. Both sides have been spewing out attack ads, which seem to be working: not for 20 years have both the president and challenger had such dire approval ratings. Not many Brits will stay up to 3.30am to watch all this, but we’ll be keeping you fully briefed here on Coffee House. Here are the six people that we have our eye on:
Anne Romney (Speaking today): She’s auditioning for first lady, and hasn’t been used much yet. A cancer survivor now battling Multiple Sclerosis, she’ll talk about how Romney is a great father and put her career above his. ‘I wish people could see him how I see him,’ she purred, in an earlier interview. Romney never talks about himself (unlike Obama) so it’s up to surrogates (which the press call Mitt-igators) like his wife. We’ll also be hearing from Grant Bennett, who worked with Romney at Bain. Anne is no Hillary; she’s not used to public speaking. Today will be the biggest gig of her life.
Chris Christie (Today): ‘Romney needs him to motivate the base, the Tea Party activists. But Christie has been known to make mistakes on the stump when he gets excited. He’s likely to talk about working across the aile and how Republican governors are leading the way when it comes to better government. He’s the guided missile for the convention, intended to deliver the memorable blow.’
Paul Ryan (Wednesday): Ryan was chosen as Romney’s running mate because of his ability to focus the campaign on the economy (Obama’s weakest point) and because he revs up the party’s base. The Democrats initially saw Ryan as an easy target, whom they could portray as an extremist. Having failed to score a hit on his views on Medicare they’re now going after him fro co-sponsoring legislation which sought to distinguish between statutory and forcible rape (ie, to try portray him as a Galloway). It’s not sticking, though. Ryan’s own polls are strong, he has given Romney a bump and he has a folksy touch demonstrated at a send-off ceremony at his hometown of Jamesville, Wisconsin, last night. The state had been leaning towards Obama: no longer. Personally, I think he’s the most interesting politician in America right now: intelligent, calm, likeable and able to explain economics in clear, compelling terms. It’s funny to see him being dropped in the ‘Palin/loony’ box by parts of the British media. We’ll be running a Paul Ryan briefing on Coffee House later on, linking to his speeches and videos, so CoffeeHousers can make up their own minds.
Rand Paul (Wednesday): The Kentucky Senator introduced his father, Ron Paul, to a crowd of 7,000 libertarians at a fringe event on Sunday (I doubt there’s a politician in Britain that could draw such numbers). The Paul clan’s enduring appeal was demonstrated by a fringe event, the PAUL festival. Paul fils is arguing that Romney needs to make an open appeal to his father’s libertarian supporters and “them an integral part of the party.” Rand is a firm Tea Party favourite, and their influence pervades this convention as we’ll explain in the forthcoming Spectator. Romney has no choice but to try and enlist the Tea Party’s support.
Marco Rubio (Thursday): Last year, Richard Littlejohn wrote a Spectator cover piece hailing Rubio as a future president. Deroy Murdock profiled him for Coffee House when he was elected a Florida senator. Obama may have the Latino votes locked up (he’s even inviting Eva Longoria to the Democrat convention next week). But the Florida vote is still to play for, with Obama leading 50-46. The US voting system means Florida is crucial: without it, Romney can’t win. This partly explains why the Convention is being held in Tampa.
Mitt Romney (Thursday): In 2008, two-thirds of Americans watched at least some part of the conventions. So, Hurricane Isaac permitting, this speech will be one of his greatest opportunities to sell himself to wavering voters (and disgruntled Republicans who may not vote). Not many Americans need persuading that Obama has a poor economic track record having failed in his goal of halving the deficit in one term (remind you of anyone?). But having turned away from Obama, they have not turned to Romney. It will be, for the Republicans, the biggest challenge of the campaign.
* Officially, the Convention opened yesterday, but the only business was the launch of an Obama debt clock and a prayer for the emergency services confronting Hurricane Isaac.
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