“I LOVE YOU WOMEN,” isn’t what people usually expect to hear at the Republican National Convention, unless of course the candidate is desperately trying to gain women supporters.
That is exactly the purpose of having Mitt Romney’s wife, Ann, speak at Tuesday night’s rally. Throughout the possible-soon-to-be-First-Lady’s speech, she addressed every type of American woman, from the happily married wife, to the single mom, and all of the daughters, sisters, mothers, and grandmothers in the USA. According to ABC, Ann offers a “softer, more emotional side than her husband ever has.”
Women typically vote more often and more liberal than men. It is essential to Romney’s campaign that he receives a large percentage of female votes in order to bring home the title of the next President of the United States. The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, women were given the right to vote, stating:
“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”
Women have only been able to vote since the 1920s, which is why it is impressive that they have such an influence on U.S. elections.
According to the Washington Post, “[Ann] can play a key role in appealing to women and closing a significant gender gap between Romney and President Obama.”
Given that it was Ann Romney’s first major speech, in which she addressed millions of viewers, she did an impressive job, well, except for her laughable Freudian slip. Ann kept using the word “successful” to emphasize her husband’s abilities. Well, one of the times she tried to say “successful” she said “SEXessful.” Guess we all know what was on her mind? Just kidding, but she made sure to nail the word all the other times.
According to the Washington Post, “where Mitt Romney can be stiff in public, Ann Romney is warm. Where he is all business, she laughs easily.” And laugh she did. Ann giggled several times throughout her speech, only adding to her likability.
One of the most memorable quotes from Ann’s speech is when she points out how real her and her husband’s marriage actually is:
“I read somewhere that Mitt and I have a ‘storybook marriage.’ Well, in the storybooks I read, there were never long, long, long, rainy winter afternoons in a house with five boys screaming at once. And those storybooks never seemed to have chapters called MS or Breast Cancer. A storybook marriage? No, not at all. What Mitt Romney and I have is a real marriage.”
The American people have judged the Romney family for not being “relatable” because they are extremely wealthy and successful. However, throughout Ann’s speech, she did a magnificent job of showing that she is easy to relate with. The mother of five has survived breast cancer, suffered a miscarriage, and is currently battling Multiple Sclerosis. One in every eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer, one in every four pregnancies will end in a miscarriage, and approximately 300,000 Americans have MS. Therefore, Ann can relate to a huge number of Americans.
It’s good to know, that although much more fortunate than many Americans, the possible First Lady is warm, inviting, and relatable. Throughout her speech, however, we weren’t told how Mitt is relatable. According to Michael Tomasky, from The Daily Beast, Ann’s speech “oddly echoed a lot of the speeches so far tonight: not really very much about Mitt Romney!”
Ann closed by shouting, “this is our country, this is our future, these are our children and grandchildren, and you can trust Mitt!”
It was a very well written speech, and I recommend that everyone who didn’t see the speech go read the text, which can be found online.
Godbold is a senior majoring in journalism.
