GOP CONVENTION PLANNERS TIE UP A CAMPAIGN PACKAGE

A few themes ran through the GOP national convention speeches that could be divined by listening to the C-Span cablecasts.

And, those themes tied in nicely with Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech.

Convention organizers probably coordinated the show, meant to counter the argument against Romney being laid down by ads backing President Obama.

Family (often stemming from immigrant parents or grandparents), tough times, founding of small businesses, near failure and then success flowing from hard work, hiring and keeping employees. Folded into the series of speeches were the political achievements of women and ethnic groups, sometimes represented in the same person.

Romney’s speech closing the convention touched on all those topics. His story, as he told it, echoed the content of the appearances of politicians and entrepreneurs and women and the candidate’s business partners and friends, who summarized their relevant experiences.

Did all this stagecraft intended to tie together the candidate’s story and his campaign strategy reach enough voters to matter? Only the vote counting starting with the polls closing on November 6 will give the answer.

Slimmed down even further, the speakers as a group offered this argument for Romney’s election: Nice people who shine often come from hard-working immigrant families that embrace the American ideal of freedom to pursue happiness, and that their small business success is shared by providing jobs for others.

Speakers encapsulated parts of that campaign argument with lines that could become talking points or bumper stickers. But the beauty of the convention program overall may be lost to those who did not watch enough of the choreography without the interruptions and interpretations of pundits.

Agree or disagree with this political production, it seemed different from the political conventions of old. Voice-over introductions with the name and title of the speaker, short enough presentations to hold attention, and a pace that warded off boredom.

Clint Eastwood’s “surprise” appearance cannot go without comment. The convention could have gone swimmingly without him. Like him or not, his piece had some entertainment value. He did prove, however, a truism of political advertising. Ideas and even exact phrases can be conveyed clearly without using explicit words. He minced no words when he distilled elections, saying that officeholders are employees of the people and if they fail at the job, they can be let go. Conventioneers gave him a fist bump on that.