CPAC 2011 Friday Morning

Went to the exhibit hall first thing and bought lots of stuff. Good place to meet people. More about that later.

Went to a good session on the left's attempts to take over the judiciary. More later on that one too, but I just watched Mitt Romney's speech. There was an overflow crowd, but I was able to get into the hall through the media lounge with my pass.The dour mainstream media

The big hall was packed and they stood up to clap for Romney. I wanted to be in the room to feel things. Being in an overflow room watching a monitor isn't the same. The standing O was tepid though, if that seem's possible. There were not hoots, no audible cheers. He got respect as the front-runner for 2012, but there was no passion.Romney on the floor this morning

Romney speaks. I’m reminded immediately that he’s flat when he makes these speeches to conservatives and I've watched him do it five times now. I feel it right away. I interviewed him three years ago at The Conway Daily Sun and he's personable in a small venue, but he lacks passion in both venues. He has pretty good material, but his timing is off. It's as if he's rehearsed the speech over and over and he's doing it the same way he did for his wife last night. He doesn’t have the chutzpah. He doesn’t have fire in the belly. His timing is off. He's not connected to the audience the way Gingrich is when he speaks. Romney looks good. He pronounces words well, but he’s lacking something very important. He doesn’t have presence. He’s like a talking mannequin.Referring to Obama and his economic policies, he says, “What we’re watching is not Brave New World. What we’re watching is Groundhog Day.” Good line, but it falls flat because of his delivery.

Romney quotes Obama's remarks about the worst economy since the Great Depression: "'It could be worse . . .' What’s next?" he asks. "Let them eat cake? or Let them eat organic cake?” Another good line, but he can't deliver it well.

“There are more people out of work in the USA than there are people working in Canada, yet Canada created more new jobs than America has [last month].”

That was a good line and the crowd responded. Not bad.
“15 million Americans are out of work.”

“This is a moral tragedy," he says because of the strain unemployment has on marriages and families. “LIberals should be ashamed that they and their liberal policies have failed these Americans.”

“The president and his fellow liberals look to Europe [for solutions, but] it (socialist policy) does not work there and it will never work here.”[Instead] Believe in capitalism, federalism, the Constitution as it was written by the founders.”He's done now. Bye-bye. Is he the best we've got? I hope not.