>> thanks for joining me. you have been a terrific panel. we will see you again in four years. thank you all for watching. can say for watching. two points for those of you who were heard some polling data, we have a lawn chair. we will have the highlights and how the middle-class and use what is going on. it will be good stuff. then we are off to charlotte next week. we will be doing viewing parties as we are doing here as well as daily briefings every morning. we hope to see some of you in charlotte. have a great day. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> welcomed today four of the republican national convention. the convention gets underway tonight, a half-hour later than last night. for the republican party it is about the 10:00 p.m. our when mitt romney formally accepts his party's nomination for president. a couple of hours ago, he visited the podium for a rehearsal of his speech tonight. let me give you a rundown of how the -- how the party has organized tonight. and 730, you will hear from connie mack and there will be a video tribute to president reagan and newt gingrich will be speaking to the delegates. at 8:00 p.m., craig romney talks about the governor and the jeb

bush will make a presentation. at 9:00 p.m., a look at the governor's past career highlights including bobwhites, the founder of staples, who knows the government from his bain days, kerry healey and a group of former olympic athletes. and then at 10:00 p.m., marco rubio introduces mitt romney and he will make his formal acceptance speech. we have an hour and a half until the proceedings began. at some time there will be music and a lot of delegates coming in. we will show you that and we will have a number of guests and we will speak to delegates about their expectations to give you a flavor of the convention and also to set the stage for the politics of tonight. we're going to begin with juana summers. she has been on the campaign trail and she is joining us from

the convention floor. let me ask you about about how the governor's staff is setting the expectation level. there has been so much coffee spilled giving advice to governor romney about what he has to do and how he should present himself. how has the campaign been responding? >> no matter what, the expectation level is high for this speech. there is a lot expected from mitt romney. this is one of the most important speeches he will give. much like they did in the selection process. exurbs as to what he might say are now getting out to reporters. >> have you had a chance? i know they came to us seconds before we started. >> i was growing through them and it seems that from the top, mitt romney will be talking about how four years ago america was energized by the hope and

change your barack obama but as president obama he has not been able to deliver about because americans are resilient, they will be looking forward and mitt romney believes he is the man who can restore that optimism to the american people. >> and a great deal of punditry has gone on about his likability and how he is being accepted as a person as opposed to a politician or a manager by the american public. will he address that issue? >> one of the goals of the speeches to humanize himself. it will be difficult because it cannot come across as contrived. he is not a guy like paul ryan who you can picture throwing a football around. he is not the kind of person. he has to watch a delicate balance and still not make it

seem too terribly contrived. >> you have actually spent time on the campaign trail so you get to see him in a different way than those of us who are observing that through the media. what to do you see that the public does not? i have traveled since last october and what i have seen is a guy who is very humble. he does not like to brag about his accomplishments. he comes back in talks with the press. there is no difference in our on the record covers sections and off the record conversations. he is steady. he is not different in private and public. he has gone that perception unfairly. >> we will be back to you in a few minutes bed right now our colleague is on the floor with a gentle man who has known mitt romney for a long time. >> michael leavitt is the three term governor of utah.

you have also been longtime friends with him. you talk to him today. what are his thoughts? >> this is a big moment in anyone's life. he was reviewing his speech did he whispered to me it has gotten better since then. i think he is excited about this. he seemed ready. >> what does he need to do for the delegates but also the television audience at home? >> this is an opportunity to not just learn about and i get a good feel for who he is. i think he needs to communicate his policy differences and i think he has an opportunity to introduce himself in a different light. >> some have said there is an inability for him to explain who he is as a person. >> i have heard that and i do not understand it. maybe because we are friends.

it is evident to me. but he is who he is, as he said recently, and he can turn the country around and that what will make the difference. >> what the you look as far as the campaign in the fall ahead? >> i believe the campaign is going to come down to economics. as the country prepared to hired the code for another four years that has not been winning or is it time for a new coach? that is a decision everyone will make. most people feel like there is a need for a new direction. he represents a new direction, along with paul ryan. >> the front page of the new york times, you are mentioned as a friend. who is the mitt romney you know? >> he is a man, i enjoyed him as a friend. he is a fun friends to have.

he has a great sense of humor. we talk about family, sports, politics, we enjoy movies together. he can remember a movie line along her that about anybody i know. he is a very animated guy. i have seen him do impressions. he is a different person as a friend, he is not a different person but has a light and animated side to him. >> i realize there is a reluctance to talk about a transition, but you have begun thinking about if mitt romney is elected, how the transition will work. >> every nominee goes through the same process. it would be irresponsible not to be thinking about what needs to be done after the election and he has asked me to spend my time thinking about that. we're going through a similar

process of preparing. it is secondary to the campaign. if he is not elected, none of that will matter. we believe he will be. >> how do you prepare for transition tax you know what it's like on the state-wide level. >> there are a number of logical things that have to be done. you began to line up the thought of options, who might be in one place or another. staff has to be organized at the white house. the budget, ideas have to be pulled together on a budget. we have to prepare for some things that could happen, a national security events or some kind of a natural disaster. what are the steps necessary to implement a commitment that mitt romney has made in the campaign? >> your name has been mentioned

as a possible chief of staff. interested in serving? >> i presumptions i will continue in my private life and my job is to find the best people to be around him so that when he winds that can happen quickly. i am going to do a couple more interviews and then i am going to sit and -- with my wife and watch the speech. >> governor mike leavitt, a senior adviser to the campaign. thank you for being with us. >> in the old days, other parties used to take a hiatus but those days are gone. today the obama campaign released a new web ad to counter what is happening in tampa. >> i think he hit a reset button. everything changes. you can kind of shake it up and

start all over. ♪ >> when mitt romney was ceo wasbain invested in a series of companies that expanded overseas, sometimes at the expense of american workers. >> the plant went bankrupt and bain made millions of dollars in profit. >> what he did do it was at $750 million in fees. another way the government collects money. >> if he is an economic heavyweight, we are in trouble. he was 47 out of 50 when he was governor. >> i was a conservative republican governor. >> he and his wife have had millions of dollars in offshore

funds in the cayman islands and elsewhere. he has kept secret many important details about his wealth, including whether he uses loopholes available to the super rich. >> the plan proposed by paul ryan to turn medicare into a voucher system. >> it would cost an average of 60 four hundred dollars in out- of-pocket expenses. -- $6,400 in out-of-pocket expenses. >> tax cuts to high-income households and increase the tax burden on middle and lower income taxpayers. >> juana summers, that etch- asketch reference has been

dodging the campaign. i am wondering, in reality, are any of the themes today a resetting of this? >> that is a great point. it does not seem like the campaign has repositioned itself. in the primary has been about jobs and the economy, getting america back to work. those are the same things he talked about today. i was glancing from his exurbs, it is -- he is changing the french. today he will talk about women. maybe there is a different framing but the message of why he feels like his qualified to be president and why he is campaigning have not changed. >> where were you last night when paul ryan made his speech? >> i was in the press stand watching over head. this is a better view.

>> what did you see? >> i have spent a lot of time with paul ryan. i have never seen the kind of response he got here tonight. to steer away from the one keenness he is known for and really bring it to a personal level, where he talks about his mother, his medicare and taking care of a grandmother, he is able to bring the political and personal to gather that softens the image of the gop ticket. >> as a reminder, one of the parts of the speech that seemed to capture the attention of the gander comments was his ipod and the music he has on it. let's listen to that and then we will come back to you. >> we are a generation apart.

in some ways we are different. there are the songs on his ipod, which i've heard. [laughter] i have heard it on many hotel elevators. [applause] he urged me to play some of the songs and i said look, i hope it is not a deal breaker. my playlists starts acdc and end with zepplin. [applause] a generation apart. a generation apart, but that does not matter. it makes us different, but not any of the things that matter. mitt romney and i grew up in the heartland. we know what places like wisconsin and michigan look like when times are good.

we know what these communities look like when times are good. when people are working. when families are doing more than just getting by. we know we can be that way again. we have had different careers. -public service, is in the private sector. he turned around failing businesses. by the way, being successful in business, that is a good thing. [applause] >> juana summers, you filed a piece about young conservatives reacting to paul ryan. how are they responding? >> it is obvious that he is closer to my age than my parents and that is heartening for a lot of young conservatives who feel like a day have somebody who gets it. that they are tuned in about medicare entitlement reform. despite the fact that it is a

system that will not impact our ninth -- their lives. this is their republican party. they do not have to wait their turn to have a voice. >> it all began in new hampshire and in i was so it is appropriately come back to the delegation. let me ask about the speech tonight. you have known for mitt romney since you ran back in 2003, what does he need to do tonight? >> i think he is going to summarize and continue to build on the things we have heard. i think he will convince the undecided they should be that decided and that he is clearly, he has the skills and the integrity and of values to restore our country. >> is there something specific

he needs to do? >> just continue to build on what we have been hearing the passed two nights and solidified the things. >> i am going to ask you at 2016 question, will new hampshire be first in the nation? >> definitely. we deserve it. we have been there. we have worked hard. there is no other state where you can have delegates in your living room. you can see them in the coffee shops, on the streets. you cannot do that with the big states. they do not have the money. you need to be able to bring them into new hampshire. it has been fabulous. this is incredible. i wish i could bottle it up and sell it to people. people are asking, what is it like.

i say you have to be here. it cannot be captured on tv. i know you are trying but it cannot be captured on tv. >> he made a comment about where you are from. >> it is the oldest american resort in the country. it will be the future summer white house for our president. thank you very much. >> we mentioned that the campaign has selected marco rubio to introduce it mitt romney. younger, popular with the tea party. he will also be introducing himself to a national audience. at in and the covered in las vegas, he talked about his personal biography. >> at my parents came to this country in search of a life for they would have the liberty to pursue their happiness.

25 years later, in search of that same quest, they came here out west. my dad worked as a bartender. my parents never made that much money. but they may be enough to buy as a home, and not a big one, but a secure one. where we were in courage to dream and we knew that if we worked hard, the dreams that have been impossible for them would be possible for us. those dreams bring me here today. across two decades, i come back to the place where those dreams took flight and i am reminded of the obligation those like me have to the rest of us. now is not the time to abandon the american merkel. that is not the time for us to go back to the ways of the old world. now is not the time to become like those countries that people

come here to get away from. now it is not the time to trapped generations of people in poverty. now is a time for us to remember why the american merkel worked and why we are different and why we are better than the rest of the world. >> juana summers, talk about the selection of demarko ru -- of marco rubio. >> having him in such a prominent position serves a lot of value, particularly as the party is trying to widen its appeal to be a party that is perverse and represents all americans. important for the gop. that is something we have seen this year. there is also that if you put him in that kind of a position, if he delivers a speech

tonight, 2016 starts talking. >> a questionnaire about the appeal to hispanic voters but he is the favorite of the tea party. how satisfied as the tea party faction at this point with this ticket? >> the tea party has been slow to embrace him but something i have noticed, and they have spent time together, since paul ryan has come out as the vice- presidential pick, he has made the argument that mitt romney is a conservative. rick santorum, who i used to cover, told me that if there was any question about his values, picking paul ryan as vice president puts exclamation on it. it has made this ticket better for some people. although there was an article earlier today that the words tea party have not been used on the

convention floor, which is striking given the top -- dominance during the 2010 election. >> the ron paul contingent, with the inclusion of him, their participation is important. what are you hearing from them? >> there is some discord among supporters. there are ron paul supporters marching around in a circle chanting a reference to the struggle over the seating of delegates with the state of maine. i think there is some discord. tea party leaders tell me there is little chance that ron paul voters would move to shake up this election. >> juana summers, when this group and the nation will hear from marco rubio and the

nominee. back to the floor. >> kevin has known mitt romney for the last six years. now he is a senior adviser. what are his spirits? >> he is very relaxed. i think the governor knows this is an opportunity to talk to the american public, but to give them a sense of who he is and where he wants to take the country. recognizing that, he has a little bit of clarity and he is very relaxed. he is looking forward to this. this is the primary. the fact we are here excepting in nomination is gratifying. we also have to remember that this is an important inflection point for the american public as they look toward the general election and look to make a choice. and also for the country. two arguments for where they

want to take the country. i think that is the thing that probably has the governor most focused right now. >> is there something that will stand out? >> i have seen a couple of versions. this is the process, these are his words. he shared with us, some of us on the campaign a framework of the speech. it has gone through several iterations. he has worked on the messages he wants to get to the american public, he wants to make to the american public. i think it is very focused on the big issues. that is what is important for the governor, this is about big ideas and challenges the country faces. and really talking directly about those challenges and issues. >> what to do you think he needs

to do to hit it out of the park? many people say paul ryan did that last night. >> one of the things that this opportunity of force the governor is the opportunity to talk to the american people about his values. also what makes him tick. what you want out of this election is somebody who has taken a new look at mitt romney. who is this guy? how did he arrive at this point? his life and how it led up to this point. then i learned a little something about where this guy wants to take the country, what he plans to do to put the economy back on track, get people better jobs and more take-home pay. those are important elements to the speech and what i hope to see out of it from a campaign perspective.

>> will we see the family tonight? >> there is enough of them. he has a lot of grandchildren. there will be enough of them out here. >> kevin madden, and thank you. >> just over an hour until the gavel comes down on the fourth and final night of the convention. you have an experienced team that seized and covering this for you tonight. next, we are going to show you a montage of acceptance speeches from this past presidential conventions. >> the protocol that the lamp beside the golden door. that was the entrance to america and it still is. now you really know why we are here tonight. the glistening hope of that land is still hours. every promise, every opportunity is still cold and in this land.

through the golden door our children can walk into tomorrow with the knowledge that no one can be denied a promised that is america. her heart is full, heard or is golding, her future bride. she has arms big enough to support. but the strength in her arms is the strength of her people. she will carry on unafraid, and ashamed, and unsurpassed. in the springtime of hope, sunlight is the turnout. thank you, god bless you. >> four seven and a half years, i have worked with the president. i have seen the unexpected crisis that are rise -- arise. and i have seen the problems

that simmer on for decades and suddenly demand resolution. i have seen modest decisions made with anguish and crucial decisions made with dispatch and so i know that what it all comes down to this election, what it all comes down to after all the shouting and the cheers, is the man at the desk and who should sit at that desk, my friends, i am that man. [applause] i say it without boaster

bravado. i have fought for my country. i have served and i have built and i will go from the helped to the hollows, from the cities to the suburbs, from the lonely as town on a quiet street to take our message of hope and growth for every american to every american. i will keep america moving forward. always forward. for a better america, for an and less and enduring dream and a thousand points of light, this is my mission, and i will complete it. >> i do not need to the presidency to make or refresh my soul. that is done by others. greatness is not what office you hold that how honest you are and

how you face adversity and your willingness to stand fast in hard places. [applause] age has its advantages. let me be the bridge to america that only the only -- let me be the bridge to a time of tranquillity and confidence in action. and to those who say it was never so, that america has not been better, i say you are wrong and i know because i was there and i have seen it and i remembered. [applause] >> my father was the last president of a great generation, a generation of americans that stormed the beaches, liberated concentration camps, and

delivered us from evil. some never came home. those who did put their medals in drawers and went to work and built on a heroic scale. highways and universities, suburbs and factories, great cities and alliances, the foundations of an american century. now the question comes, to the sons and daughters of this achievement, what is asked of us? this is a remarkable moment in the life of our nation. never has the promise of prosperity been so vivid. but times of plenty are tests of the american character. prosperity can be a tool in our hands used to build and better our country. or it can be a drug in our system, telling our sense of urgency, empathy, of duty. our opportunities are too great,

our lives to short, to waste this moment. so tonight we've got to our nation, we will seize this moment of american promise. we will use these good times for greatcoats. -- great goals. >> i am not running because i think i am blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need. [applause] my country saved me. i cannot forget it. i will fight for her as long as i draw breath, so help me god. >> a little trip down memory lane, courtesy of the c-span video archives. this year in addition to our coverage, we have added a second

screen experience. you can find all sorts of things to at commentary and contacts to what you are seeing tonight. you are able to watch a stream of the convention floor but we have made it easy to share them with friends. we also have a twitter feeds. as you are watching the convention, you can see them from delegates. and also from people around the country who are watching it as you are watching it. and we have other things such as you just saw and some of google hang out soro we have talked to reporters about their experience. all that is available and easy to find. we have a camera outside the times form and as the convention is closer and closer, more people are coming through security. they have established a wide parameter. it is a very walkable among the

internal hotels, including the marriott where his family is staying. you have to wear credentials everywhere you go and there are levels of credentials that allow you access to different places. all of this has become routine. we have a guest joining us from the convention floor and i want to introduce you to michael kranish. he is the co-author of a biography of mitt romney called the real romney. thank you for being with us today. i was just musing over michael the caucus, mitt romney, and the kennedys, what is it about massachusetts that makes it a breeding ground for presidential ambitions? >> i want to provide stories for the boston globe. it is hard to say exactly. massachusetts law of politics.

an active political community. great history and the state. we have had a series of nominees from the state. it could be we go for a long time without one. certainly during my run, there have been three. it is exciting to cover the presidential campaign from a local and national perspective. >> we have talked about it but so much has been written about electability factor. earlier we were talking with michael leavitt to has known the governor and he kept talking about him as think somebody who was a friend. emphasizing this theme. as you look back on michael dukakis, they were also criticized as not being the guy next door. not been friendly. how important is it to voters? >> the need to have a connection so they understand you have an empathy with them.

bill clinton is famous for feeling the pain. it is not essential to be about your opponent to win the election. obviously the economy is important. governor romney's favorability ratings have been under water, as they say. it is not as high as president obama program -- president obama's. he will try to talk more about things that he has not always been comfortable talking about. for example, his time as a leader of the mormon church, thinks he has done and a personal level about how he helped to certain individuals. he will try to find ways to make the connection. he is not a typical politician of the backslapping variety. he did not run, he started his career trying to win a seat in the senate against ted kennedy

in 1994. then he ran for governor and one. then he lost the nomination in 2008. this time and political life has been very high. he has not developed a personal skills that a candidate that started out at the local level might have done. >> you also suggested that empathy is the characteristic voters are looking for. >> it is not so much about having a beer with a guy. obviously he is not going to have a beer as a mormon. that is the phrase that comes to mind. does he understand the problems of an average person like me? that is translated into, i like him. he understands me and i understand him. it comes together in different ways. but it is about this issue of connectedness. mitt romney is one of the

wealthiest person ever to run. his net worth is a quarter billion dollars or more. obviously it raises the question, how does he understand the problems of a person like me? he has struggled to make that connection. he has tried to talk about it and he will talk about it tonight what he did at bain capital. the democrats would say that was not always the case. jobs were lost. he will try to use what he sees as the highlights of his life and career to make more connection with the average voter. >> john kerry brought to the campaign the wealth of the heinz family. considerable personal wealth as well. is the difference today the state of the economy? >> there is always the question if, how can they connect to me?

john kerry was not as wealthy as some thought but when he married to resell hinds, the net wealth increased dramatically. -- teresa heinz, the net wealth increased dramatically. he tried to bring that i did to the floor. hillary clinton is a popular figure in politics, even among people of both parties. candidates can transcend that. a big step comes tonight for governor romney. >> let's return to the convention floor. >> these are the official mitt romney posters that are being handed out to delegates inside the convention. i want to introduce you to gain from san antonio and barbara from austin. 45 minutes and it is as crowded out and i have seen the last three nights.

>> everybody wants to hear mitt. >> what is happening right now is it is an opportunity for all of the delegates to walk around and meet other delegates and some of bus bringing our pins and we trade them with the other states and we collect them. if you had been to more than one of these, you always make friends at the conventions and it is fun to go back to the delegation and see if that person as a delegate again and read your friendship. it is a great time. >> the headline is going to be mitt romney's speech. he has to deliver the speech of his life. what you want to hear and how will you measure whether he has succeeded? >> i want to hear his vision to bring us back to an economic stability. and i want to hear the excitement behind that vision. i do not want to -- i do not

think president obama has the vision and mitt romney does has a vision. -- have a vision. >> i want to hear him say he is the man that can bring our country economics back in line to where they were eight years ago. that is tearing up with paul ryan, is just a combination we need to get that done. i think he will energize the people at this convention. they are going to go home and the excited. that is what it is all about. when you hear your candidate speak, you can go home and bring that information to the people in your home area and get them energized to get people registered to vote. the important thing is that people will go and vote. >> we have been talking about competence envisioned, what does mitt romney need to do tonight? what would he need to achieve in

this election? >> i think he needs to touch us in our hearts. so that we know when he is elected, there will be a change in our country. that our children are going to be better off. our grandchildren are going to be better off. that is what i am looking for. >> thank you for being with us. >> we're talking with michael kranish of the boston globe and the biography of "their real romney." i want to ask you about comments kevin madden made when we interviewed him acknowledging what a tough slog the primary was. what is it about mitt romney that he was the last man standing? >> it was a hard slog. he lost in 2008 because conservatives and evangelicals

did not want him as his nominee. he had to convince some of those same people. he is not a tea party person. only 10 years ago he was projecting himself as a moderate, he was an independent, he was progressive. he used all of these words in 1994. he categorize himself as pro- choice. he was better on gay-rights than ted kennedy. he talked about being an independent. for years, he portrayed himself as a liberal-moderate politician only to switch to republican in 1993. republicans who are based republicans who have been conservative look set to mitt romney and it sought himself talking about being pro-choice and they were skeptical. may to run the understood it was

a big hill to climb -- mitt romney understood it was a big hill to climb. he still had a tough fight because there are a number of people in the party to do not see him as the first or second choice. i have spoken to delegates and i have asked him, how strongly are you for mitt romney. the reaction was, we have a good team. they like the idea of picking ryan. for those who were not embracing him and now they feel more comfortable with mitt romney. the question is, what does that say to the swing voters, the moderates he might be trying to reach out to tonight? >> fled to the circle back to this question again because at the heart of it i am trying to understand what qualities we can learn about mitt romney as a

leader, as a president from the way he is selected, from the way he conducted this campaign. >> let me tell you a story that i came upon and researched over the course of recent weeks, that is the story of 48 years ago versus today. he was 17 years old. he accompanied his father. there is a photo of mitt at that convention when he was 17 listening to his father trying to get a civil rights platform. he then wanted rejecting extremism. he then said that if the nomination is given to barry goldwater, the republican party would be committing "political suicide." then he walked out in 1964

because they would not go in a more moderate direction. 48 years later, mitt romney is walking in and calling himself "severely conservative" and he is reaching out to the barry goldwater wing of the party. a very conservative party. in doing that, and he further reaches out and picks paul ryan, a conservative member of the house from wisconsin. he is finishing a long journey from watching his father and when he was running for the senate in 1994 himself and for the governorship as a moderate and today at this convention, self-described as conservative who now and the law -- nonetheless has to reach out to moderates. it is an interesting path he has had to walk to reach this moment. >> we have a clip from 1994 of george romney as he gave an

interview to a local pbs station talking about the deficit and federal spending. >> in 1948, i concluded that the people of this country did not appreciate this third sector we have. he said that as people faced problems, they did not turn to the government, they turn to their fellow citizens. i became convinced this was the least recognized and the least organized and at least to utilize to aspect of our society, for problem solving purposes. what did we have one the constitution was written? franklin said we have given you a republic. if you can keep it, we did not keep it. as a result of changes that were

made of the structure that they created. we created democracy. in my opinion, we'll no longer have a democracy. we have a special interest democracy, a process dominated by the special interest. that is why they cannot deal with the deficit. the presidents have recommended getting rid of programs that are obsolete. they cannot get them eliminated because there are enough people benefiting from some program they are trying to get eliminated so they cannot get the votes in congress. me and don't cut thee, but everybody else besides my constituent. >> that is george romney in 1992 in an interview with pbs. michael kranish, i hope you could hear the audio. there was the father talking

about special interest ruling washington and the inability to control spending. talk to me about the political connectivity between father and son. >> you cannot overestimate the connectivity between them. not only in appearance but they are alike and so many ways and from this perspective, his father never saw him when the nomination for the presidency, something george romney had tried to do. it is interesting, when i was researching, they came across a history where he gave some of those same thoughts. as i was reading it, i had not seen it referred to and other stories and i thought it was fascinating because it is almost as if he is talking to his son and saying, listen to this. the oral history i am talking about, you can hear him talking

about how you should run for president. one of the things he told the interviewer, but you could take it further and say he is speaking to his son, if you're running for president you should be specific. tell the public exactly what you want to do. but if you do not do it when you are running, it might be impossible to implement those things if you become president. that is the advice that he was talking about. obviously this campaign, he has been specific on some things but not others. talking about broadening the base, eliminating deductions, what does that mean? cutting the budget, what would be cut? there are a lot of specifics that are yet to be heard. a convention is not that type of place to lay of specifics. you talk in broad themes and categories. but maybe he would lay out more

specifics. that might be a valuable thing to do. >> i understand this is a busy night for the staff of the boston globe with your former governor accepting the nomination. can you stay with me? we will be back to you. >> we are at the georgia delegation. the governor is counting on it. he spent a lot of time they're raising money. let me ask you about the speech tonight. what does the governor need to do? >> i think he needs to connect with the regular american people and give him his vision for the country. >> what has this convention been like? >> exciting. i have learned a lot. i have met a lot of good people. i have enjoyed myself. >> you are one of the veterans. how does a candidate connect to

the audience inside the forum and to those of television audiences back home? >> the key for governor romney is to talk about what he has done, the successes he has had, how he has been an active leader in his community and done a great job turning the olympics are around. that will connect with the activists and it will connect with the voters all over this nation. >> to do you think they have done a good job selling mitt romney? >> i think they have done a good job. it is by tell that they have this conversation. it is going to be a great conversation. we are thrilled about the opportunity to kick off the election. >> it includes a surprise speaker. it has been reported that clint eastwood is going to come before the podium.

>> any time you can get somebody like that with his stature and star power to deliver, i'm sure it will be an energizing speech to the crowd and to a lot of people in the country that look up to him. i think it will be a great moment. >> thank you for being with us. >> and -- michael kranish talked about the twin -- 2008 bit 4 mitt romney but as a candidate he was invited to be get the convention. we have a cup of that. -- clip of that. >> selling nuclear technology. russia is siphoning more than $500 billion a year from last in what could become the greatest transfer of economic wealth in the history of the world. this is no time for a timid

empty gestures. our economy slowed down and a lot of people are hurting. what happened? mortgage money was handed out like candy and speculators broke -- brought in for free. then aslant the economy. gas prices made things worse. democrats want to use the slowdown as an excuse to do what their special interests are always begging for, higher taxes, bigger government, and the last trade with other nations. the same path europe took a few decades ago. it leads to double digit unemployment. the right course is the one championed by ronald reagan 30 years ago and by john mccain and sarah palin today. [applause] the right course is to rein in government spending, lower taxes, cut to excessive

regulation, put a stop to windfalls and to stand up to the appetite of government unions. [applause] >> michael kranish, a preview of governor romney in front of an enthusiastic crowd and how he might do tonight. what can you tell our audience of about the way that governor romney will approach this speech? does he write his own speeches? >> he does the right some of his big speeches. he gave the biggest speech he has given, the religion speech she gave in texas in 2007 where he addressed questions about his mormon faith that he talked about being a more men running for president and not trying to be a mormon president. the staff said he did write it. it was received.

i am told he worked on at a lot himself. he had help from another speech writer and other people to contribute but the campaign knows it needs to be in his voice. one of the problems they have had is that people are trying to see who mitt romney really is so they do not want to go too much outside. they want to keep it in his voice. we'll have to see. i have seen some excerpts. it is hard to see how it will go. they say it will be a personal speech or listeners will get to know more about him. >> michael kranish, you have been a generous with your time. we look forward to your reporting as he went his way through the fall campaign. thank you for being with us. back on the floor. >> who says there are no hats at these conventions from the ohio delegation? we have a contingency. let me ask you a question.

what do you want to hear tonight? >> i want to hear that he is going to create jobs and bring america back to prosperity. >> what is your name? >> i am from ohio. >> where you from? >> i want to see him bring back jobs to this country and see how he is going to bolster our educational system. >> i want to hear his vision for the future and an inspiring speech. i know he is going to inspire. >> what are you looking for? >> a sense of confidence in his belief in this country. that is what the republicans stand for. freedoms and belief that america. >> what is your name? >> my name is debbie. i would like to see him slam dunk that speech and work on that debt, because of our children and grandchildren. >> my name is pam.

i wanted to accept the nomination and talk about the economy, bringing jobs back to the united states so our children have jobs for the future and bring down that debt. >> i am from ohio and i want to hear how he is going to turn the economy around. >> outside of paul ryan's speech, give me another speech that stood out. >> condoleezza rice. >> condoleezza rice. >> condoleezza rice. >> ann romney. i thought she was fantastic. she gave us a sense of mitt we had not seen yet. >> thank you for being with us. >> we are the ohio women for romney. [applause] ohio! oh-io! oh-io!