It was supposed to be the biggest speech of his life, the one chance Mitt Romney had to address the American people free of interruptions from any Democratic rivals. Romney had the spotlight; a full 45 minutes to win over the American people, something he desperately needed to do in a race that is already really close to call.
Mitt Romney blew it! He had the best opportunity he'll ever have, and he simply did not deliver. His speech writer or team of speech writers should be fired.
Here's the breakdown of Romney's speech:
• Mitt Romney should have taken advantage of his night to shine, and instead most probably ended up tipping the scales in favor of the incumbent, Barack Obama.
• Romney's vocal tone was too high and he sounded like a salesman. He should have used a much lower vocal tone which would have conveyed intimacy and likeability. Think of a marriage proposal: it's done in a very low tone to capture the moment and make it extra special.
• There was never any emotional connection to the audience and he sounded like a corporate CEO. Romney is losing with the women voters and he needed to win them over, but there was nothing in his speech that helped him do that. He didn't get personal enough with the audience. He desperately needs to overcome the squeaky clean image and should have revealed a personal flaw. People see Romney as almost too perfect. He and his family are all wealthy, good looking, skinny and extremely smart, and the average American family has trouble connecting with the Romneys. He should have said something like, "I've never said this publicly before, but I want to share this with you now." The idea is not to diminish his success but to show us that he's human by revealing a flaw or something surprising.
• Instead of taking a chance on Clint Eastwood which did nothing for the Romney cause and left many people confused, the campaign should have taken a chance on Romney. He should have broken away from the conventional speech and one-third of the way into it, Romney should have stepped away from the lectern, walked to the front of the stage and said, "Turn off the teleprompter and let's talk honestly." The crowd would have gone wild and he would have grabbed the attention of the viewers at home.
• Political experts such as John Dickerson of Slate Magazine and CBS News said Romney gave a "fine speech," but in terms of the fundamentals of the speech and delivery it was pretty lackluster and any professional speaker would tell you so.
• President Obama will knock it out of the part next week in Charlotte. Obama is a great speaker who knows how to connect with his audience and that was a huge part of getting him elected in 2008.
Looking back at the Republican National Convention and the lineup of speakers, Ann Romney didn't get the job done, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie spent too much time talking about himself in his speech Tuesday night. Mitt Romney failed to sell the American people on his vision for the future. The best speaker by far was Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan. Unfortunately for the GOP, this week's speeches just weren't good enough.