Ann Romney and Governor Chris Christie headlined last night's kick-off of the Republican National Convention, giving two very different speeches. The question this morning: Were they effective?
When Ann Romney took to the stage last night, she spoke at length about women, love, and life with her husband, Governor Mitt Romney. One NBC reporter tweeted the room was so silent "you could hear a pin drop." Appealing to the female vote, Ann Romney talked about how Moms have "always had to work a little harder." Appealing to swing voters and undecided voters, she said, "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 in an effort to sell the country on her husband, Mrs. Romney assured, "You can trust Mitt."
Governor Christie had a different approach. He spent a great deal of time using his record in New Jersey as a model for leadership, and he pointedly put the notion of responsibility over that of love. "Our ideas are right for America," Governor Christie said of his party, "and their ideas have failed America." Calling out President Obama directly, Christie said, "Mr. President, real leaders don't follow polls, real leaders change polls." Notably, Governor Christie was beyond the midpoint of his speech when he first addressed Governor Romney.
They were distinct speeches appealing to unique sensibilities and audiences. But did they work? We'll pose that question to the panel today at noon ET, but we want to hear what you have to say, so let us know on Twitter, Facebook, and right here on the blog.
PANEL
Hugo Lindgren, Editor, The New York Times Magazine (@hugolindgren) [3A]
Eric Bates, Executive Editor, Rolling Stone [3A]
GUESTS
Ezra Klein, The Washington Post/msnbc Policy Analyst (@ezraklein)
Sam Stein, The Huffington Post/msnbc Contributor (@samsteinhp)
Michael Duffy, TIME Magazine