Was the Republican National Convention a Success for Mitt Romney? >
Mitt Romney Still Lacks Warmth and Ability to Connect With Voters
The party faithful are already behind Mitt Romney, but he failed to make the case to voters
August 31, 2012
Mitt Romney had one critical challenge going into the convention in Tampa: appeal to the nation's undecided voter. Many would argue that it was essential that he play to the party faithful and energize the base but the fact is, this is a base that would walk 10 miles through a driving snowstorm to vote against Barack Obama; the faithful hardly need any more motivation. Yet, in almost every speech over three days, the speakers seemed to speak to the audience in the hall (composed of the most loyal party faithful) and ignore the more important television audience, that audience composed of those still wanting to be inspired and shown a vision for a better tomorrow.
Polls have consistently shown that the American people trust Romney to handle the economy and the deficit better than the president. And, on script, he played to his business biography by highlighting his years at Bain Capital, the Salt Lake Olympic Games, and as governor of Massachusetts, but, surprisingly, offered few specifics beyond his standard stump speech. The "jobs" challenge is structural in nature and will require multiple strategies to turn around. Mitt Romney missed a critical opportunity to offer specifics and left many wondering, "Where's the beef"?
[See a Slideshow of the 11 Most Memorable Political Convention Speeches.]
Currently, polls show his biggest vulnerabilities are personality and depth of character: The American people find him less likable and don't believe he understands the cares of everyday Americans. In his speech and in the other speeches throughout the convention, consistent attempts were made to humanize him, but in the end, there was still a lack of warmth. There too was a lack of genuineness to capture the votes of those independents sitting at home wanting to see if this is the leader they want to have a beer with for the next four years.
Romney gave a solid performance, but on a morning where more people will be gathering around the water cooler and talking more about Clint Eastwood's speech than the nominee's, I'm not sure "solid" was good enough.
The opinions presented here are those of the author and do not represent those of Venn Strategies, LLC, a bipartisan firm.
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- Other Arguments
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#121979
Yes — The RNC overcame Isaac, united Republicans behind their nominee, and improved Romney's White House chances
FORD O'CONNELL, Republican Strategist, Conservative Activist, and Political Analyst
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#27350
No — The RNC's happy talk allowed speakers to skip over the ticket's less cheery policy plans
BRAD BANNON, President of Bannon Communications Research
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#45141
No — RNC's speakers focused on Romney's intangibles, not the platform
BRANDON ROTTINGHAUS, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Houston
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#56763
No — Mitt Romney missed an opportunity to present detailed plans, and his surrogates weren't much help to him
ZERLINA MAXWELL, Democratic Strategist and Writer
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#64543
Yes — Tampa an overall success, but if the GOP was looking for a winning message, it didn't build it
JAMIE CHANDLER, Political Scientist at Hunter College
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#75866
Yes — The convention presented Mitt Romney as a compassionate leader capable of turning country around
LARA BROWN, Author of 'Jockeying for the American Presidency: The Political Opportunism of Aspirants'
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#83451
Yes — Mitt Romney did an amazing job of defining himself
JUDSON PHILLIPS, Founder of Tea Party Nation
