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Romney Vows to Deliver Country From Economic Travails Romney Vows to Deliver Country From Economic Travails
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TAMPA, Fla. — Mitt Romney accepted the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday by making a direct appeal to Americans who were captivated by President Obama’s hopeful promises of change, pledging that he could deliver what the president did not and move the country from its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.TAMPA, Fla. — Mitt Romney accepted the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday by making a direct appeal to Americans who were captivated by President Obama’s hopeful promises of change, pledging that he could deliver what the president did not and move the country from its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
In his address on the closing night of the Republican National Convention, Mr. Romney asked voters to consider whether their lives had improved over the last four years and urged them not to feel guilty about giving up on Mr. Obama. He left little doubt about his chief argument against Mr. Obama in the fall, saying: “What America needs is jobs.” The speech by Mr. Romney, delivered on the closing night of the Republican convention, signaled an attempt to redefine the race around his business background, which Democrats have spent the summer attacking. He urged voters not to feel guilty about giving up on Mr. Obama, even if they were proud to support him as the nation’s first black president.
But Mr. Romney not only delivered a forceful critique of Mr. Obama, he also used the marquee speech of his presidential campaign to make a case for himself, summoning people from each chapter of his life to paint a humanizing portrait in hopes of helping voters see him with a trusting eye. The effort underscored how Mr. Romney’s path to winning the White House reached well beyond Republican activists gathered here. “You know there’s something wrong with the kind of job he’s done as president,” Mr. Romney said, “when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him.”
But even as Mr. Romney delivered a pointed critique of Mr. Obama’s domestic and foreign policy, saying that he had “thrown Israel under the bus,” he also used the marquee speech of his campaign to make a case for himself. He invited people from each chapter of his life to paint a humanizing portrait to help voters see him with a trusting eye.
“This president can tell us it was someone else’s fault. This president can tell us that the next four years he’ll get it right,” Mr. Romney said. “But this president cannot tell us that you are better off today than when he took office.”
With 67 days remaining before Election Day, the presidential race has been essentially locked in place, with each side hoping to win over a small slice of the electorate that is still undecided. The Democratic Party will offer its rebuttal at its own convention next week in North Carolina, with voters being left to judge whether either party advanced its case.
The speech loomed as Mr. Romney’s most important since he began openly exploring his presidential aspirations nearly a decade ago. It was an opportunity to present himself to Americans who are just now beginning to tune in to this campaign and to make the case against Mr. Obama, particularly to the people who voted for him.
“If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn’t you feel that way now that he’s President Obama?” Mr. Romney said. “You know there’s something wrong with the kind of job he’s done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him.”“If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn’t you feel that way now that he’s President Obama?” Mr. Romney said. “You know there’s something wrong with the kind of job he’s done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him.”
With 67 days remaining before Election Day, the presidential race has been essentially locked in place, with each side hoping to win over a small slice of the electorate that is still undecided in fewer than a dozen states that are the leading battlegrounds across the country. The Republican convention, which had been delayed earlier in the week by Tropical Storm Isaac, ended in rousing and respectful acclamation for Mr. Romney. While he has often been viewed with suspicion by conservative activists, he is now uniformly seen in a new light as a man who stands a strong chance of winning back the White House.
The speech loomed as arguably Mr. Romney’s most important since he began acting on his presidential aspirations nearly a decade ago. It was an opportunity to present himself to Americans who are just now beginning to tune in to this campaign and to make the case against Mr. Obama, particularly to the people who voted for him. In a campaign where foreign policy has often been a side note, Mr. Romney showed that he does not intend to shy away from aggressively challenging Mr. Obama’s foreign policy. He said the president had “abandoned our friends in Poland,” been duped by Iran and been too weak toward Russia.
“I wish President Obama had succeeded because I want America to succeed, but his promises gave way to disappointment and division,” Mr. Romney said. “This isn’t something we have to accept. Now is the moment when we can do something.” “Every American was relieved the day President Obama gave the order and SEAL Team 6 took out Osama bin Laden,” Mr. Romney said. “But on another front, every American is less secure today because he has failed to slow Iran’s nuclear threat.”
In the hours leading up to his speech at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, Mr. Romney’s life story unspooled before the Republican delegates. Personal testimonials were intended to reshape perceptions about Mr. Romney that have hardened after a negative television advertising campaign from the president and his Democratic allies. Business owners, longtime friends, Olympic athletes and members of his Mormon faith offered personal stories in an effort to humanize Mr. Romney. But the evening was not entirely serious, with a bizarre element of stagecraft playing out as the actor Clint Eastwood strode into the convention hall to deliver a meandering one-man monologue that criticized the president. He used an empty bar stool sitting on stage as a prop to hold an imaginary conversation with Mr. Obama, which occupied the first 15 minutes of coverage on the broadcast television networks.
Bob White, a business partner at Bain Capital and a longtime friend, took to the stage to testify that Mr. Romney was a decisive leader and conscientious investor. He engaged in a series of exchanges, saying at one point, “What do you want me to tell Mr. Romney?” He replied, “I can’t tell him that. He can’t do that to himself,” Mr. Eastwood said. Then he said, “You’re getting as bad as Biden.”
“When things went wrong, we would not blame others,” Mr. White said. “He took decisive action. Mitt never hesitated. He made the tough decisions, coalesced the team, and moved forward.” The audience inside the hall responded with curiosity to the bit of old Hollywood. From her seat on the convention floor, Ann Romney watched with a nervous look on her face.
The stories were intended to help build a fuller picture of Mr. Romney, who has been reticent to talk about his faith or his charity works. The stories filled a long portion of the program, but it was not televised, so it remains an open question how successful the effort will be. The dynamics shaping the general election campaign, particularly the challenges facing Mr. Romney, came to life during the convention and in his acceptance speech. Improving his standing among female voters is critical to his chances for victory, aides said, and Mr. Romney amplified a steady theme of messages aimed at women.
With the speech, Mr. Romney closed out his party’s convention here and prepared for a quick shift of public attention to the Democrats, who will gather to formally nominate Mr. Obama to a second term next week in North Carolina. “When my mom ran for the Senate, my dad was there for her every step of the way,” Mr. Romney said, parceling out another piece of his biography. “I can still hear her saying in her beautiful voice, ‘Why should women have any less say than men, about the great decisions facing our nation?’ ”
The dynamics shaping the general election campaign, particularly the challenges facing Mr. Romney, came to life during the Republican convention and in his acceptance speech on Thursday night. Improving his standing among female voters is critical to his chances for victory, advisers said, and Mr. Romney amplified a steady theme of messages aimed at women. A party that has struggled to increase its appeal to female, Hispanic and black voters featured a diverse lineup of speakers throughout the week, concluding with Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who introduced Mr. Romney on Thursday evening. A favorite of Tea Party activists, Mr. Rubio embraced Mr. Romney as “a special man to lead us in a special time.”
“When my mom ran for the Senate, my dad was there for her every step of the way,” Mr. Romney said. “I can still hear her saying in her beautiful voice, ‘Why should women have any less say than men, about the great decisions facing our nation?’ “ Mr. Romney swept into the convention hall to an enthusiastic welcome, ending his long journey across two presidential election cycles to reach this moment. The applause grew louder as he took the stage and formally accepted the nomination at 10:36 p.m.
A party that has struggled to increase its appeal to female, Hispanic and black voters featured a diverse lineup of speakers throughout the week, concluding with Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who introduced Mr. Romney on Thursday evening. A favorite of Tea Party activists, Mr. Rubio embraced Mr. Romney as the right leader for the moment. “I accept your nomination for president of the United States,” Mr. Romney said. “I do so with humility, deeply moved by the trust you place in me. It’s a great honor and it’s an even greater responsibility.”
“Everywhere he’s been, he’s volunteered his time and talent to make things better for those around him,” Mr. Rubio said. “We are blessed that soon, he will be the president of the United States.” Throughout the evening, Mr. Romney’s life story unspooled before the Republican delegates inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Testimonials were intended to reshape perceptions about Mr. Romney that have hardened after a negative television advertising campaign from the president and his Democratic allies. Business owners, longtime friends, Olympic athletes and fellow Mormons offered personal anecdotes to help humanize Mr. Romney.
The Republican convention, which was shortened by a day as Tropical Storm Isaac loomed, has been filled with sharp and forceful denunciations of the president and his policies over the last four years. Delegates cheered as speakers portrayed Mr. Obama as hostile to small-business owners, tolerant of increases to the national debt and out of touch with American values. The stories were intended to help build a fuller picture of Mr. Romney, who has been reluctant to talk about some details of his private life. During his speech, he also talked about his Mormon faith, a subject he rarely raises during the campaign, saying, “My friends cared more about what sports teams we followed than what church we went to.”
Former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida received booming applause when he delivered a direct message to the president on Thursday evening, saying: “It is time to stop blaming your predecessor for your failed economic policies.” He beamed as he recalled his childhood in Michigan, where his father was governor and a Republican presidential candidate in 1968. He struck out on his own, saying: “If I stayed around Michigan in the same business, I never would know if I got a break because of my dad.”
“You were dealt a tough hand, but your policies have not worked,” Mr. Bush added. “In your fourth year of your presidency, a real leader would accept responsibility for his actions, and you haven’t done that.” The speech was warmly received among Republicans who were interviewed as balloons and confetti slowly fell from the rafters and Mr. Romney was joined on stage by his running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, and their families.
The Republican convention was teeming with excitement and optimism at the prospect of defeating Mr. Obama in November. The strong dissatisfaction with Mr. Obama helped swiftly push Republicans to rally behind Mr. Romney, who was long viewed with suspicion by many party activists over his evolving views on abortion and other social issues. Mike Osborne, 63, a delegate from California, said: “His opponents have tried to define him as a rich kid from Michigan who lived off his parents. I know that’s not true, but now everybody else will too.”
Mr. Romney is inheriting a party that is in generational and ideological transition — and that does not hold the affection for its presidential nominee that it did for, say, Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush. With the speech, Mr. Romney closed out his party’s convention. His 39-minute address offered a road map to the duel challenges in the final phase of the campaign: trying to win over disillusioned Democrats and independent voters, even as he motivates his Republican base.
The Republican Party is increasingly dominated by Tea Party conservatives who are pushing a platform of deep cuts in the size of government and for whom opposition to abortion rights and gay rights are almost consensus positions. But it is also dominated by divisions over tactics, as many Tea Party activists have rejected the politics of compromise that had been the way of life for many establishment Republicans. “If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn’t you feel that way now that he’s President Obama?” Mr. Romney said.
Mr. Romney, speaking to an audience beyond the one inside the convention hall, sought to use the moment to rise above the bitter political sniping that has characterized much of the presidential campaign.
“The time has come for us to put the disappointments of the last four years behind us,” Mr. Romney said, according to the prepared remarks. “To put aside the divisiveness and the recriminations.”

Michael D. Shear, Adam Nagourney and Jonathan Weisman contributed reporting.

Michael D. Shear, Adam Nagourney and Jonathan Weisman contributed reporting.