The buildup to Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech as his party’s nominee for President at the Republican National Convention in Tampa emphasized themes of charity, diversity, and achievement in Mitt Romney’s private and public life.
Gov. Jeb Bush gave an address that focused on education reform; Romney’s son Craig addressed the crowd in Spanish; and former officials from the Romney administration–including Jane Edmonds, a liberal Democrat and African-American who served as the state’s Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development.
The audience also heard from several speakers about Romney’s leadership role in the Mormon church, including his charitable contributions and assistance to families in difficult circumstances.
On the big screen, the convention watched a video about one of the recipients of the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship, which pays public tuition costs for the state’s top students.
And, to rousing applause, several Olympic and Paralympic heroes–including figure skater Scott Hamilton, who received the biggest cheer–endorsed Romney and extolled his leadership of the 2002 Winter Olympics.
The presentations aimed at filling in the gaps in Romney’s biography–and did not shy away from Romney’s years at Bain Capital, which were described in glowing terms by former colleague Bob White. Tom Stemberg, founder of Staples–one of Bain’s greatest successes–spoke about Romney and contrasted Staples to the Obama administration’s failed investment of taxpayer dollars in Solyndra.
The mainstream media did its best to make things difficult for the Romney campaign, cutting away to critical punditry and spurious fact-checking, but many of those watching the convention learned much about the candidate that they had been eager to hear since his nomination became assured many months ago.
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