Posted on Tuesday night as Wednesday’s regular blog.
The Republican convention last night seemed, well, small. Perhaps because the hurricane reduced its schedule, perhaps because the hall looked miniature, perhaps because the too many empty chairs diluted its energy – for whatever reason, the thing looked smaller than similar events in the past. I could not put my finger on it, except that I suspect that most people in the room feared that most Americans watching – if they watched – do not believe what they heard. I sense strongly, too, that the delegates in Tampa do not believe that Mitt Romney can win. All seemed out of sync, including the much-anticipated speech from Ann Romney, dressed in Nancy Reagan red. I will leave for women to judge if she connected with them. To me, it was a sycophantic appeal that did little to address the threat Republicans pose to women – a startling oversight in light of the fears raised anew by Todd Akin of Missouri and Paul Ryan.
Any personal story can be interesting. Any couple’s past can be lovely but it is useless to what happens next if it is just a story.