Now that the RNC Convention is in the history books, let’s recap some ups and downs (as well as some “evens”) from the RNCconvention.
Ups
Paul Ryan. Definitely a rising star. Came across as thoughtful, honest, full of ideas, and just plain cool. When was the last time you heard a Republican refer to AC/DC and Zepplin?
Condi Rice. Great speech. Great story about her upbringing. No teleprompter. Who knew she was that good?
Marco Rubio. Though most in Florida have heard a version of the speech he gave, he did introduce the Republican nominee for President. This sets him up for the future. So what if he made a little flub in the speech – he’s a Republican rock star.
Jeb Bush. Proving once again that he’s the authority on education reform.
Rick Scott. Sometimes you’re a winner when you realize other things are more important. Gov. Scott proved that he’s more concerned about his duties as Governor by attending to circumstances involving Hurricane Isaac.
The Fresh from Florida Breakfast Series. From protesters interrupting Sen. Rubio to the “real” Chris Christie speech, this was where the real action was. This series made the awful hour long bus rides to the convention seem like a minor inconvenience.
Adam Putnam. The MC of the “Fresh from Florida Series.” He did a great job of setting himself up for the future.
Mitt Romney. Though his speech was nothing exciting, he did what he had to do.
Ann Romney. A heartfelt speech that made you feel like she was already the first lady.
Susana Martinez. Wonderful heartfelt speech that made you realize why she could have been considered VP material. Her story about suddenly realizing why she was a Republican resonates with many.
Evens.
Chris Christie. His RNC Convention speech was too focused on himself…but his “Fresh from Florida” speech hit all the right notes.
Florida Delegation. Sure, they were in No Man’s Land at the Innisbrook. Sure there was the bus problems on Tuesday. But the “Fresh from Florida” breakfasts made up for it.
Jeff Atwater. The CFO seemed overshadowed by Adam Putnam throughout the week, with Atwaters only appearance being on the final day of the “Fresh from Florida” series. Where was an “ice cream social” when you needed one?
RPOF. The bus situation was horrible. The lack of security that allowed protesters to infiltrate Sen. Rubio’s speech was embarrassing. It also made everyone wonder why they paid $350-$400 for an “Event Pass” if everyone could get in. If it wasn’t for the “Fresh from Florida” series, the RPOF would be in our “Down” column.
Security. Too much downtown (and not enough at Innisbrook) made it a pain to get around. It makes the even category because all the security personnel were actually very nice and extremely helpful.
Downs.
Pam Bondi. A strange pairing with the Georgia Attorney General was just plain weird. We know AG Bondi can do better than that.
Telepromter jokes. You can’t really make too many jokes about Obama using the teleprompter when our own people use it too.
Protesters. First of all, there weren’t that many of them. Secondly, they seemed petty to interrupt Rubio and attempt to interrupt Ryan and Romney. They had little impact.
Ron Paul Sore Losers. Are they really Republicans? Yes, the “Rule Change” stuff was heavy-handed and unnecessary, but giving your passes to protesters is bad form.
“Rule Change.” Was it really necessary? Did the RNC and Romney campaign really need to worry so much about Ron Paul speaking at the convention? We will never know, but we wonder if the heavy-handedness of the rule change might not have just made things worse?
Tampa. Most shops reported reduced business. Hotels seemed like they were in another time zone. Downtown seemed like a demilitarized zone. This didn’t seem like a great city to hold a convention in.
Clint Eastwood. Yes, we love Clint at FCN. No, we didn’t think his skit with the chair was as awful as the mainstream media made it out to be. Our problem was that he took valuable prime time screen time away from Romney, and that’s a problem. Years from now, his skit might be the only thing that sticks in people’s minds.
