Op-ed:

Tampa was on fire last night

By: Diane Sori

You could feel the electricity in the air as the top tier of the Republican hierarchy spoke last night in Tampa.  Speaker after speaker set the room on fire.

From South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley ("America deserve better than what we have today."); to Former Obama supporter Congressman Arthur Davis ("We have a country to turn around."); to Rick Santorum ("The only thing my folks were guaranteed from the Government was freedom!”); to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker ("The R next to Mitt Romney's name just doesn't stand for Republican, it also stands for reformer."); to Virginia Governor Mitch McDonnell (“Big government didn’t build America, we did); to Utah Congressional hopeful Mia Love (“Mr. President I am here to tell you we are not buying what you are selling in 2012″), the embers of that fire were stoked and simmering ready to be set ablaze.  

And New Jersey Governor Chris Christy, last night’s Key Note Speaker, helped ignite those flames.  With New Jersey’s delegates putting Romney over the 1,144 votes needed to clinch the nomination, Christie spoke with a fire in his belly and sent a resounding message that Mitt Romney and the Republican agenda will bring America back to greatness, something Barack Hussein Obama has taken away from her.

"Our ideas are right for America and their ideas have failed America" said Governor Christie and how right he is.

"They believe the American people want to be coddled by big government..." Christie continued and hit it home with a comment that is sure to anger some on the left when he said, "We believe in demanding the very best teacher in every classroom in America." "They believe in teachers unions, we believe in teachers."

Big union isn’t too happy with Christie today but the American people sure are.

"We need more politicians who care about doing something than being something."  "America needs MITT ROMNEY and PAUL RYAN and we need them right now!"

How right he is as America under four more years of the Obama/Biden stewardship will become unrecognizable to ‘We the People.’

And while Governor Christie did indeed set the room on fire, Ann Romney set it ablaze from the moment she entered center stage.  Ann Romney, Mitt Romney’s beloved wife of 42 years, spoke of a tender yet strong side to the man who will hopefully be our next president.  Ann Romney, a woman who has fought and won her own personal battles, showed us a side of Mitt that few knew...Mitt, a family man who first and foremost loves his family, his country, and his God; a man that “doesn’t like to talk about how he has helped others because he sees it as a privilege, not a political talking point.”  

Ann Romney brought a human touch and humble side to the man Obama claims does not relate to the middle class.  She spoke of a man who was NOT handed success but a man who built it through hard work and determination; a man who is “no different than the millions of Americans who quietly help their neighbors, their churches and their communities. They don’t do it so that others will think more of them.  They do it because there IS no greater joy.”

“Give and it shall be given unto you.”  Biblical words that Mitt Romney lives by.

“No one will work harder. No one will care more,” said Ann Romney about her husband as president. And the way Ann said those simple words you just know they are true. 

"I can’t tell you what will happen over the next four years. But I can only stand here tonight, as a wife, a mother, a grandmother, an American, and make you this solemn commitment: This man will not fail. This man will not let us down.  This man will lift up America!" said Ann with a sparkle in her eyes and a deep belief in her heart that her husband will do just that.

And on that I so agree as Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have a vision for America of hope, of striving to put our country back on track, of returning America to her Constitutional roots, of America becoming America again...a land of opportunity, freedom, and above all else, exceptionality.

"Real leaders don't follow polls, real leaders change polls" said Governor Christie, and in the case of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan those polls have already started to change and will culminate in a new day for America as our strong Conservative message of hope, compassion, and a real future for our children and grandchildren sends Barack Hussein Obama and his minions packing on November 6^th.

And Tuesday, November 6^th can’t come soon enough for me.