“Come right down, and pick a line”, said the Secret Service agent standing at a security gates to the Convention Center. I looked at the guy and recognized a familiar face and a friend from my Army past. We hugged as we reunited after over 20 years. He said quietly to me, “I’m glad you’re here, because I’m working outside but am cheering for the future President.”
What a great way to start the walk into the hall. After some handshakes, we walked all the way down the arena and found our seats, and great seats they were. Not only were the Michigan Delegates front and center of the podium, but I am on the aisle, in the second row right behind Gov. Snyder. Snyder introduced the nation’s first brother in waiting, Scott Romney, as he gave up Michigan’s delegate count to nominate his brother and our native son, Mitt.
You could feel the energy and see the tears in Scott’s eyes as his voice cracked as he spoke about a better day, long ago in Michigan. He pledged that his brother will not disappoint us in Michigan, nor will he disappoint our nation.
So, you might be asking, were you disappointed? No! With first night speakers like Congressman Artur Davis, the former Obama Co-Chair of the 2008 campaign and DNC speaker endorsing Romney, and Ann Romney sharing a closer look into the heart and sole of Mitt, how could we be disappointed?
Well, OK, I am a bit disappointed. You see, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie spoke to our Michigan delegation (privately) about why he was supporting Mitt in the morning. I did notice that the Christie we saw as the Keynote of the RNC’s first day was a bit different than the man we heard and saw in the morning, but, hey, that happens 13 hours later!
On a high note, Ann Romney was over-the-top likeable and Chris Christie appealed to the independents by showing the reality that only Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan offer real solutions for America’s and Michigan’s problems. These speakers gave us the energy we needed to get things started for the rest of the RNC Convention.
There is a new awareness amongst Republicans. I guess sometimes it’s an awakening after not being in power, but this is different. The awareness is more of a reality that we, Republicans, have the answers to fix our nation’s and state’s troubles by doing what’s right. We believe that we are going to win this, and win it for our and our children’s futures.
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