Ann, Chris, and The Donald

I watched the Republican Convention in Tampa last night for one key hour in prime time, starting at 10pm EST (7pm on the West Coast). Since the proceedings were cancelled on Monday due to Hurricane Isaac, it was do or die on Day 2. For that reason, the most interesting people were selected to speak: Ann Romney and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey. The Donald (Donald Trump, in case you're one of the two people who don't know who I'm referring to) was dropped from Monday's roster and not rescheduled.)

There's been a sea change in American politics since the Baby Boomers were born. I can't conceive of Mamie Eisenhower or Pat Nixon leading off a Republican Convention in those days. They say Mrs. Romney was chosen specifically to humanize Mitt and to attract women voters. Up to a point, she succeeded. It was interesting to hear about their life together, but too sugar-coated to be truly revealing or memorable. Just an ordinary couple in love with five sons, working hard to succeed despite her serious illnesses. She spoke as a woman and mother, but failed to say a single word about the anti-abortion issue which has so many women upset. Likewise, she foresaw increased educational opportunities for kids, but failed to mention Republican plans to slash funding for education.

Next came Chris Christie, a bombastic and dramatic counterpoint to the prior speaker. If nothing else, the Governor of New Jersey is impassioned. He provides great theatre and is fun to listen to in a Rudy Giuliani kind of way. He steamrolls the audience with his brash assertions and New Jersey cockiness. I think this is the kind of performance that is appropriate for a keynote speaker, designed to fire up the Convention and inspire voters to the cause. His problem, however, was the absence of essential truths. He faulted the President for not instituting needed changes, but failed to acknowledge that Obama was stymied by Christie's Republican colleagues in Congress, who voted against every program the President proposed. It also sounded a lot like a rehearsal for his own envisioned acceptance speech for president in 2016. Hopefully, the obesity issue will be behind him by then; as you know, that look went out with President Taft.

Too bad the Donald was cancelled. He would have had a great one-liner: "Mr. President, you're fired!".