Instead, Romney painted a dour picture of a nation struggling with the economy and failing to revive.
“This is the real state of our union,” Romney said. “But you won’t hear stories like these in President Obama’s address tonight. The unemployed don’t get invitations to sit with the first lady.”
Among those sitting with the first lady tonight are the secretary for billionaire Warren Buffett, who has been cited by Buffett because he pays a lower tax rate than she does; Laurene Powell Jobs, the wife of the late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs; and Adam Rapp, a cancer survivor who benefited from the health care overhaul.
Romney’s advisers said that the candidate wanted to use the speech to both forecast his case for the nation and deliver a message-setting speech in Florida. Romney never delivered a major speech in South Carolina, something his aides now regret as a missed opportunity to define Romney’s campaign and his reason for running for president.
Romney never mentioned – or even alluded to – any of his Republican rivals in today’s speech. Instead, he focused squarely on Obama, saying the president isn’t doing enough to get the economy back on track.
“He keeps telling people, ‘We can’t wait.’ To which I say, ‘Yes, we can,’” Romney said, attempting to use Obama’s 2008 campaign slogan against him.
“Do we want a president who keeps telling us why he’s right and why we’re wrong?” Romney said. “Or do we want the sense of excitement that comes with a new beginning?”
