TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Around the 2012 Republican National Convention and its host city with journalists from The Associated Press bringing the flavor and details to you: __ THERE HE IS The song playing was "My Girl" by The Temptations as Mitt Romney made his first appearance at the Republican National Convention to congratulate his wife, Ann, after her speech Tuesday night. They kissed. He grinned. She grinned. The crowd roared. The whole thing lasted less than 30 seconds. And the newly minted GOP presidential nominee was gone — at least for the moment. — Ted Anthony — Twitter http://www.twitter.com/anthonyted ___ THEY GOT THE MEMO The GOP convention's Tuesday theme is "We Built It," and nearly every speaker is hitting that note. A sampling: "Mitt Romney was not handed success. He built it." — Ann Romney, wife of the nominee. "No guarantees. No government there to hold your hand. Just a dream and the desire to do better. President Obama doesn't get this. He can't fix the economy because he doesn't know how it was built." — House Speaker John Boehner. "They tell us we didn't build our businesses. That somebody else made it happen. They tell us not to dream, but to settle. You and I know America is better than that." — Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval. "Big government didn't build America: You built America! Small businesses don't come out of Washington, D.C., pre-made on flatbed trucks." — Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. — Connie Cass —Twitter http://twitter.com/ConnieCass ___ HONORING MOM Directly on the heels of Ann Romney's outreach to women, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is crafting his speech, too, around a woman — his mother. Christie says it was his mother who taught him the key lessons of life — including, Christie says, that sometimes it's more important to be respected than loved. Christie said his mother was the family's enforcer. The Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, is believed to be lagging President Barack Obama in gaining women's votes. It's probably no coincidence that so much focus on this key night of the Republican convention is devoted to praising — indeed, lauding — strong women. — Sally Buzbee ___ WE BUILT IT Two business people who spoke to the Republican convention's "we built it" theme also received some help from Uncle Sam. Phil Archuletta of New Mexico-based P&M Signs assailed the Obama administration for nearly "putting us out of business" because of changes in procurement rules. He also lamented that "nothing happened" from his requests for stimulus money. A review of government data found P&M Signs received more than $340,000 in federal stimulus contracts under President Barack Obama. Another speaker, Sher Valenzuela, took aim at government involvement in business. She received $17 million in federal contracts and loans, the liberal watchdog Media Matters first reported Tuesday. One of the convention's themes is that small-business owners created their success through their own hard work, not by reliance on government. It's a dig at Obama's much-maligned remarks that entrepreneurs rely on government-supported infrastructure that they "didn't build." — Jack Gillum — Twitter http://twitter.com/jackgillum ___ QUICKQUOTE: CHRIS CHRISTIE "I don't want my children and grandchildren to have to read in a history book what it was like to live in an American Century." — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, delivering the keynote speech Tuesday night at the Republican National Convention. __ ANN ON MITT "This man will not fail." — Ann Romney, on her husband. ___ SANTORUM GLIMPSES In a tightly controlled convention, there are surprisingly few echoes or reminders of the long and sometimes chaotic Republican primary fight that dominated political news coverage in the first part of the year. But former Sen. Rick Santorum's speech gave a rare flashback to that primary fight. On a night when many speakers focused on the ailing economy and how to best fix it, Santorum took a different tack and focused mostly on social issues such as single parenthood, the Education Department and welfare. Another reminder of those winter and early spring primaries: the proud smiles of two of his daughters — so often seen as the daughters stood behind him as he talked. This time, the daughters were in the audience, but their proud, fond smiles as their father spoke were a vivid reminder of the primary days. — Sally Buzbee ___ JUST HANGING AROUND The balloons are ready. They won't fall to the convention floor in vivid red, blue and white disarray until Mitt Romney gives his acceptance speech on Thursday night. But they're waiting — tied up in big nets hanging high from the ceiling of the Forum in Tampa where Republican National Convention delegates are meeting. Volunteers helped tie the balloons and lifted them to the ceiling before the convention started. Nestled among them are some huge, white beach ball-looking balloons — it will be interesting to see how those fall. — Sally Buzbee ______ QUICKQUOTE: ANN ROMNEY "We're too smart to know there aren't easy answers. But we're not dumb enough to accept that there aren't better answers. And that is where this boy I met at a high school dance comes in. His name is Mitt Romney and you should really get to know him." — Ann Romney, in her convention address, speaking about her husband. ___ ENCOURAGING WORDS A quick exchange between Mitt and Ann Romney, at their hotel before they left for the convention hall: Mitt Romney: "Break a leg — you'll do great" Ann Romney: "I am excited. I am not nervous." — Kasie Hunt — http://twitter.com/kasie ___ FADING DREAM? The Republican Party's convention speeches are putting emphasis on restoring the American Dream. People's faith in the concept does seem to be fading. A Pew Research Center poll released Monday found 63 percent say "most people who want to get ahead can make it if they're willing to work hard," down from a high of 74 percent in 1999. Another third say hard work is no guarantee of success. — Jennifer Agiesta — Twitter http://twitter.com/jennagiesta ___ ROMNEY ALL BUT IGNORED The rivalry between Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney calmed enough for Romney to give his one-time bitter rival a speaking slot at his nominating convention. It didn't calm enough for Santorum to have much positive to say about his Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee. Santorum, the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania who was the final obstacle between Romney and enough delegates to capture the nomination, only mentioned Romney at the tail end of his speech on the first night of the party's convention. Judging from his speech, he still doesn't have a lot good to say about the man he once called "''the worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama." Santorum's speech script ran 1,150 words before he uttered Romney's name. After? Just 28 words were scripted before Santorum exited the stage. — Philip Elliott — Twitter http://twitter.com/philip_elliott ___ 'WE DIDN'T LET GO' Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum told the story of his 4-year-old daughter Bella, born with a serious genetic condition. Doctors advised the Santorums that Bella wouldn't live long and they should "prepare to let her go." "We didn't let go, and today Bella is full of life and she has made our lives and countless others much more worth living," he said. In his speech to the Republican convention, the former presidential candidate related Bella's story to the party's anti-abortion stance: "I thank God that America still has one party that reaches out their hands in love to lift up all of God's children — born and unborn — and says that each of us has dignity and all of us have the right to live the American Dream." — Connie Cass —Twitter http://twitter.com/ConnieCass ___ WHAT THE CAMERA DOESN'T SHOW Ever wonder what really happens on the floor during a political convention? Is everyone really sitting there rapt, hanging on the speaker of the hour's every word. No, actually. Big parts of the convention are taken up by kibitzing. It's the real action at conventions. True, the delegates do pay attention to the speeches, and they cheer especially when a particularly good speaker comes on or when it's someone from their home state. But the aisles are also thronged with people talking, catching up with friends or buttonholing officials to get their ear. And the walkways behind the arena are even busier — filled with people chatting, arranging meetings, grabbing food and looking for famous faces. And unlike a basketball or hockey game, almost no one ever shouts "down in front." — Sally Buzbee ___ 'I SHOOK THE HAND OF THE AMERICAN DREAM' Rick Santorum, the candidate who waged the most persistent challenge to Mitt Romney's nomination, says campaigning across America convinced him the American Dream can be restored: "Why? I held its hand. I shook the hand of the American Dream. And it has a strong grip," Santorum told the Republican National Convention. "I shook hands of farmers and ranchers who made America the bread basket of the world. ... "I grasped dirty hands with scars that come from years of labor in the oil and gas fields, mines and mills. ... "I clasped hands of men and women in uniform and their families. Hands that sacrifice and risk all to protect and keep us free. .... "I held hands that are in want. Hands looking for the dignity of a good job, hands growing weary of not finding one but refusing to give up hope." — Connie Cass —Twitter http://twitter.com/ConnieCass Continued... |