Republicans Concede 2012 Presidential Election

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie fired up his base on Tuesday night in Tampa Bay in front of a forum full of glassy eyed Republican voters.

He talked of America’s need for real leadership and not absentee leaders. He spoke of Democrats scaring and dividing the American people and how it’s time to make America great again.

Christie’s speech was full of fire and hyperbole and seemed to connect with hard lined Republicans.

But there was glaring hole in Christie’s charred oration: Mitt Romney.

Christie’s speech was 2,600 words long and he waited until word 1,800 to mention his party’s nominee for president.

He talked mostly about himself, his parents, his family, his accomplishments, his state and how America needed to be taken back.

Romney was a cold afterthought in Christie’s time at the podium as if he was forced to mention the former governor’s name.

Another interesting fact about Christie’s speech is his failed memory.

Christie said that the Republican Party’s ideas are right for America. Let’s examine that for a second.

The state of New Jersey has an unemployment rate of 9.8 percent – the highest in 35 years.

He also won’t talk about how New Jersey took $1.75 billion in stimulus money to save the jobs of public workers, such as teachers, even though he bashed the teachers union in his speech to the RNC on Tuesday night.

More than anything we saw a big, fat concession from Christie and the night’s speakers.

The night yielded just one strong Romney supporter and that came from the nominee’s wife, Ann. She talked of love and their life together as a married couple.

I expected nothing short of a cheerleading effort from Mrs. Romney and that is what we received. But the others, like Christie, Rick Santorum, Ohio Governor John Kasich and Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, mostly talked of how well they have done for themselves.

If the calculation is to play down Romney before his big moment on Thursday then I say, ‘job well done GOP.’

If not then I say that, ‘this was a night shrouded with 2016 undertones.’

Party leaders aren’t expecting Romney to win and are giving him an expensive going away party for being a lukewarm nominee and they are doing a bad job of that.

Every night the GOP has come up with a theme for its convention. Tuesday’s theme was “We Built It.”

Now—let us see you build and save your party’s nominee because so far, he’s drowning in the arrogance and self consumption of his political friends.

-JH