Romney's Second to Last Battle

Mitt Romney is now the official candidate for the Republican Party in the U.S. presidential elections of Nov. 6. The Republican Convention closed Thursday with his much-awaited acceptance speech. We say much-awaited because a lot was staked on it. He had to take advantage of this unique occasion of addressing a massive television audience to improve his profile — in other words, to tone down his image as a cold and secretive man, to lift the spirits of a country depressed by the crisis and to exhibit the political talents required to lift his country once again. In short, to establish himself as an alternative to President Obama.

This first objective — to project a more amicable and empathetic image — Romney has pursued throughout the entire convention, overcoming his shyness. A couple of days back his wife Ann helped, addressing those gathered to guarantee them based on personal experience that her husband was a man to trust. And Romney himself did the rest in his speech on Thursday, a large part of which he dedicated to recounting family memories — and not without resorting to melodramatics. Those who accused Romney of omitting any mention of his private life — which is that of a Mormon and a successful businessman — can no longer do so, although it is also true that he didn’t explicitly mention his beliefs or refute the criticism of his professional career.

Romney pursued his second objective — attacking Obama — by introducing him as a frustrated illusion and the person responsible for the current weakness of the American economy. “President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the planet. My promise is to help you and your family,” proclaimed the candidate. And he was able to connect with his audience completely, as is natural in a country with a high unemployment rate. Finally, regarding his third objective, candidate Romney once again cloaked himself in his business experience and outlined a plan to create 12 million jobs.

Many analysts have classified Romney’s speech as the best of his career. This could mean two things: either that the ones before weren’t as good or that this one, despite its generic tone, was enough to unite the Republican family. The latter would be good news for Romney, but not the last piece of good news that he wants to receive. During the last 10 weeks leading up to elections, in order to reach the White House, he must still convince indecisive voters and turn around some polls that are not in his favor. TV debates can be, in this sense, a definitive test.