I admit, I’m exhausted. I know Norm is, too. Every day was packed with things to do and see, and every evening stretched into the wee hours of the morning. Whether it was Kid Rock and Journey concerts, or a maddeningly difficult spoke-and-hub bus system to get folks to their hotels, every day seem to end just before the next one began. I’m actually too tired to sleep, which is why I’m writing a post at midnight. The RNC took a lot out of me.
But having been there, I wouldn’t have traded the experience for anything. So forgive me for channeling my inner Clint Eastwood and rambling a bit about the convention and Mitt Romney.
I’ve been a Mitt Romney supporter for a while now. Once Guiliani imploded back in 2008, Romney was my candidate. When he made it clear he was running for President again this year, he was my guy from the very beginning. I’m usually pretty bad at picking nominees, so the fact that Romney pulled off this win is especially sweet. Each time I’ve met him he’s been personable and charming, and he’s always demonstrated the kind of pragmatism that I value – a willingness to work tirelessly until something worthwhile is accomplished. I’ve always viewed him favorably, and that’s why I have been frustrated during the last six months as the Obama campaign has effectively painted him as someone who doesn’t get America and has no compassion for Americans.
Now, after the convention, we have incontrovertible proof that the spinning the Democrats have been doing about Mitt Romney couldn’t have been more wrong.
Anybody actually watching and listening to the speeches on the last day of the convention saw a side of Mitt Romney that has rarely been seen on the campaign trail. It’s the Mitt Romney who is a genuinely good man – someone who has been moved by compassion to better the life of his fellow man in ways that mean more than writing a check or passing a law. And he did most of what we learned about him when he wasn’t holding an elected office. That message is one that many of us politicos need to hear: You don’t need to be a Congressman to comfort someone who needs it. You don’t have to be running for President to help a friend fold the laundry. Rich or poor, caring about your fellow man is something we can all do. It’s too easy to think you can’t make a difference without a title. We can help, no matter who we are.
But we don’t always do it well. On my way back home, I talked with my wife about Thursday’s speeches, and I told her I don’t know many people who could have had so many people tell such heartfelt stories about them. Politicians always can find folks whom they’ve helped thanks to their office, but how many people out there have so many people willing to speak so sincerely about simple random acts of kindness? It was striking to me.
We don’t have a lot of faith in politicians nowadays, because too many of them have made mistakes. After a few hundred examples of liars, philanderers, cheaters, thieves, and all around dirtball politicians are paraded before you on the evening news, it’s easy to be cynical about the folks who try for public office. That’s probably why the speeches Thursday had such an impact on me. I came away from the convention not just believing that Mitt Romney was the best choice in the field we chose from, I came away thinking he was the best choice we could have made, period.
The Democrats can say he doesn’t have a plan to fix the economy. They can say his jobs plan won’t work. They can say they don’t like his foreign policy. They can attack his record at Bain or as Governor of Massachusetts. What they can’t do is claim that he’s out of touch with Americans, that he doesn’t care about the lives of everyday people, and that he’s a robot with a faulty emotion chip. We heard from too many people who were touched by Mitt in a positive way where there were no cameras, no quid pro quos, no cynicism. I come away from Tampa completely convinced that Mitt Romney understands Americans and truly wants to help them. And I believe that the show we put on demonstrated the Republican party is still the party of ideas, of the kind of compassion that freed the slaves and killed Jim Crow, the party that still believes that America is the greatest nation on earth and we can remain that way if we try hard enough. It was one of the most uplifting weeks I’ve had in a long, long time.
This was one of the best conventions I’ve ever seen, been a part of, or read about in a history book. I left there proud to be a Republican and ready for the fight to come. I left proud of what my party has accomplished, and proud of the man we’ve chosen to bear our standard this election. Win or lose, I will not feel the way I felt in 2008 when I step into the voting booth.
In this contest, I feel like I’m finally voting for someone again.
And it feels good.
