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Streetcar Line
Romney Soars in Pensacola
Mitt-mentum becomes him, as he elevates his game.
The proverbial “electricity” was palpable in the crowd at the Pensacola Civic Center on Saturday, but candidate Mitt Romney was talking about electricity of another kind. Romney, a onetime Boy Scout leader, was speaking about a major national Scout ceremony from years ago in which a Scout leader from Monument, Colorado, was telling a story while he, Romney, was there on the dais.
The Monument scouts had created a special American flag (with gold trim, or something like that), had it flown at the U.S. Capitol, and then somehow convinced NASA to send it on a space shuttle. The shuttle was the Challenger; the flight was in 1986.
Lo and behold, after many months of random discoveries of debris from the tragically exploded Challenger, somebody actually found the Monument flag, and NASA returned it to the Scouts in Colorado. The flag, amazingly enough, remained in perfect condition. And the Scout leader unveiled it at the ceremony — and then handed it to Romney.
“I touched it,” Romney told the Pensacola crowd, “and it was as if electricity was running through my arm.”
The way Romney told the story was masterful. The hyper-enthusiastic audience, 12,000 strong, was suddenly completely hushed. And Romney continued to weave this story, this moving, true story, into a broader narrative, quite seamlessly, about heroes and honor and big ideals — a story told in the context of honoring heroes like the Navy pilots based there in “a city of heroes,” Pensacola, and those pilots who had been based there in the past, like a man named John McCain. And Romney suddenly was quoting, perfectly, a lesser-known verse of “America the Beautiful,” the one that goes “O beautiful, for heroes proved, in liberating strife, Who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life.”
Romney continued: “This is who we are as a people…. We live for things beyond ourselves.”
None of this speech seemed awkward or canned. None of it seemed forced. Every single bit of it rang true, and flowed naturally and conversationally, a testimony from the heart.
My wife, a tough critic of political speeches, agreed with me: Never, ever, had either one of us seen Romney like this — not this effective, not this genuine, not this naturally inspirational.
It wasn’t just the crowd’s enthusiasm that was electric, and it wasn’t just the sensation the Monument flag sent through Romney’s arm that was electric; Romney himself was electric, in the very best way — a source of energy and of what certainly seemed like light, coming from a candidate I’ve often in the past derided as stiff and awkward and overly postured. In Pensacola on October 27, 2012, Mitt Romney was electric, and he exuded warmth. He was slipping the surly bonds of politics, touching something truer.
He did it amidst a crowd that exuded a vibe the likes of which I haven’t felt since Ronald Reagan was around. Oh, it still wasn’t quite Reaganesque, but it was wonderfully close to it. This crowd really seemed to have taken Mitt Romney to its heart; the feeling wasn’t so much visceral as it was embracing. There was a sense of welcome and warm energy, somewhat like that which Reagan inspired, rather than of the more virulently animal spirits that sometimes mar political gatherings.
In turn, Romney seemed remarkably at ease, his delivery fluent and eminently real. Again and again, in a natural and unforced way, he worked local references into the narrative arc of his speech on big, decidedly national issues such as military spending, trade, and Obamacare. (Without breaking a sweat, he also managed the politically effective feat of working in references to people in other places — Monument; and Waukesha, Wisconsin; and New Hampshire — that just so happen to be swing states.) And his speech had the right cadences, too: Most of it easy and conversational prose, but with just the right amount of obviously prepared sound bites that were semi-catchy without being ostentatious, with just enough of a “speechified” feel to keep the audience’s attention.
Barack Obama, said Romney, “is out of ideas, he’s out of excuses, and this November we’re gonna put him out of office.” American needs to make “big choices, with big consequences, which is why this is a big election.” And so on. Nothing brilliant. But quite obviously effective.
This was a candidate not just “hitting his stride,” but rather one elevating his own game and elevating the entire campaign’s sense of what American aspirations should be. Gov. Romney suddenly has the look and feel both of a winner and, more importantly, of a true leader, worthy of the nation he would serve. Turn on the lights; the good work is just beginning.
About the Author
Quin Hillyer is a senior editor of The American Spectator and a senior fellow at the Center for Individual Freedom. Follow him on Twitter @QuinHillyer.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (17) | Leave a comment
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Kelly Staples| 10.29.12 @ 6:46AM
I attended a Romney rally in Port St. Lucie, Florida and can only echo Mr. Hillyer's verdict: this man has taken his game to the next level. He is ready to lead!
Von Mises Jr| 10.29.12 @ 7:03AM
Romney, like Reagan is simply the conduit that channels the electricity of American Exceptionalism. These men are flawed as are all men, but they embody an idea. That idea is liberty and pursuit of happiness. The latter refers to the right to pursue your dreams.
I cannot wait to dream again. But first we must rid ourselves of this nightmare.
Appleby| 10.29.12 @ 7:11AM
I watched this speech (and in fact saw the identical speech a couple of days ago, flag story and all), and what impressed me most of all was Romney's ability to gather in the crows under the banner of "We're all in this together." Unlike the cartoon plutocrat dressed up like the guy on the Monopoly Game cover, Romney came across as an American. You never hear anybody chanting USA USA at Obama's rallies; Obama is a divider and a derider, and after listening to him you don't know who "USA" refers to, exactly. And I bet you'll see Romney and Ryan helping out somewhere after this storm has passed...and Obama might mention it on Letterman the next time he's in town...
PJ| 10.29.12 @ 9:50AM
"And I bet you'll see Romney and Ryan helping out somewhere after this storm has passed...."
I was thinking the same thing. I know it will "seal the deal." And Obama will not get out of his bunker.-----How symbolic is that!
Ken (Old Texican)| 10.29.12 @ 7:30AM
I sent the following e-mail to 2,500 friends. Several of them said I should post it here;
Good morning,
Picture me on bended knee here begging you to kick your worthless brother in law off his couch to vote on election day!
I am assuming of course you have your own head out of your butt and your voter registration up to date.(smile).
If you are a reader, my very best suggestion of a daily list of columns is: www.americanSPECTATOR.com I hope you will put it in your favorites)
Ladies and gents, This November is our very last chance to retain our freedom without massive bloodshed.
To hell with personality quirks and propaganda, dammit, vote Romney, even if you see him as simply a “place-saver” for our republic and your continued liberty.
Obama has finally allowed his mask of deceit to slip fully. He wants the votes of the “takers” and the mere “shut-up compliance” of we “makers”
The day AFTER ELECTION DAY, Mr. Obama will have the power to hit the “kill switch” so that e-mails like this one are silenced before you can get them. That is why I have jumped out early with this letter to you.
Ken (Old Texican)| 10.29.12 @ 7:32AM
We already know that massive vote-fraud will take place on behalf of Obama.
Our ONLY dependable opposing voting block to offset that fraud…..is merely pithed off……………………….Christians strangely enough..
Las t week, during the National Democratic Convention, at least half of the delegates voted “NO” ………………….three times… to re-inserting the word “GOD”(one single time), into their party platform. I watched it live, and you can watch it on youtube if you don’t believe me.
So, thoughtful folks like you…….Christians…of what ever stripe, and “righteous Jews” must overwhelm the vote-fraud and then (God help us), stand to arms if the “internet kill-switch” is indeed thrown while the votes are “re-counted”.
It may very well be that the “gimmie my stuff” voters already outnumber us. What then fellow American?
May God keep you and yours ,(Ken)
Joellen| 10.29.12 @ 11:14AM
Good job Ken, and this is how WE WILL WIN AMERICA BACK! GOD Bless and keep it going - cause you are sooooo right that they will commit massive voter fraud. Stay alert folks.
Alex Feltham | 10.29.12 @ 10:59AM
Romney will win.
Russell Crowe is what upsets me!
Can't we right-wingers have just one actor to admire?
See "Et Tu Brute?" at:
http://john-moloney.blogspot.com/
fmm| 10.29.12 @ 11:27AM
John Voight
Occam's Tool| 10.29.12 @ 2:36PM
The most Patriotic Actor of All Time: Jimmy Stewart.
General James Stewart, Bomber Pilot and Movie Star.
Also, Audie Murphy became a Hollywood Actor who starred in The Red Badge of Courage. He was alao the most decorated man from the enlisted ranks in WWII. (He received a Battlefield Commisssion.)
Oldefarte| 10.29.12 @ 11:25AM
As Ken [above] indicates, we all need to DO OUR DUTY TO OUR COUNTRY on 11/6/12. No excuses, no BS! JUST DO IT as Nancy Reagan would say! As to this speech, as I've opined before, speeches are not what moves me [but for those requiring same, so be it]. Romney has the goods [professionally, educationally and patriotically] to get the job done that needs to be accompolished. Again, the big roadblock for him and Ryan will be how big a number of supporting Republicans will they have in congress in order to pass needed legislation, and this all depends upon YOU! IT'S THE GD DEMOCRATS STUPIDS! Go and do your patriotic duty on 11/6/12 by marking your entire Republican ticket on your voting ballot!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oldefarte| 10.29.12 @ 12:46PM
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfro...../id/461882
Joellen| 10.29.12 @ 11:28AM
We do, we have James Caviezel, John Voght, Angie Hartman, Bo Derek, Tom Selleck, Danny Aiella, Gary Sinese; and I am sure more, they are just not obnoxious about it and in our faces demanding that we tolerate their opinions. And really Alex, I am more confident knowing that we have TAS readers on our side, we are the grassroots that will restore America to glory. So fear not and put your trust and faith in the Lord. Russell is just a man.
Pecos Pete| 10.29.12 @ 2:39PM
And, Clint (Empty Chair) Eastwood. Along with many more who, as Joellen points out, are just not obnoxious about it.
William Peck 1958| 10.29.12 @ 11:44AM
excellent, Quin !
John II| 10.29.12 @ 10:20PM
We all recall the first debate as a decisive turning point, but I think Romney hit his stride with the third debate. A few points:
1. He handled the Benghazi affair with exactly the right indirection, considering that it was still in the early stages of unraveling. Perhaps he was coached to do so in the expectation that the Professor would be prepared with a cheap-flashy response calculated to bury the issue. But we should remember that Romney is looking to win over voters who supported the Professor in 2008--a too severe criticism would rub the bad judgment of those voters in their faces.
2. What struck me overall about the third debate was the restraint consistently displayed by Romney amid the petulant sound-bite barbs tossed out by his opponent. The Professor looked and acted like the emotional 16-year-old he is. Romney looked and acted presidential.
3. The so-called undecideds to whom Romney, in his stride, was appealing seem to me, as a class, to be almost as contemptible as the corrupt MSM jerks who carry water for the Professor. But the former are not nearly so stupid. Debating points be damned; in his stride, Romney emerged from the last debate as the better man.