Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Ann Romney are seated with Cardinal Timothy Dolan(second left) and President Barack Obama at the 76th annual Alfred E. Smith Dinner in New York. Oct 18, 2012
(Photo – Charles Dharapak)
Amid tuxedoed, evening toggery, Governor Mitt Romney handily charmed the audience at the 76th annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner tonight at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York. In the tradition of the yearly white tie, ‘roasty’ charity fundraiser for Catholic charities, Romney garnered great laughs poking fun at himself and President Obama. Throughout most of the evening, only host Cardinal Timothy Dolan separated Mitt and Ann Romney from Obama.
The event was a refreshing pause from the nitty-gritty election grind.
Romney’s timing and delivery were perfect. See for yourself:
Mitt Romney stopped by his campaign headquarters in Manchester, NH, last night for a post-debate party. 6/13/11
(Click on photo to enlarge.)
After a late night at the presidential debate and stopping by his campaign headquarters in Manchester for a post-debate party with staffers, it’s no surprise Mitt Romney was on the diner campaign trail bright ‘n early this morning – listening to concerned voters in The Granite State:
DERRY, N.H. – This morning, newly minted presidential candidate Michele Bachmann took the first flight out of New Hampshire, but Mitt Romney stuck around. Both candidates helped themselves at last night’s debate — Bachmann especially, since so little was expected of her. After her performance, she’s sure to get a turn in the spotlight. But debates alone don’t win the nomination. Especially in the early states, voters expect plenty of one-on-one attention. So by hitting the campaign trail early this morning, Romney probably did more to help himself.
He hit a couple of breakfast spots before winding up at the Derry Feed and Supply store just before lunch for some empathetic talk with the locals and a short press conference. Several of the locals who showed up mentioned that they had seen him campaign four years ago, and Romney managed to put this experience to use. “I was in these very shops four or five years ago, when I ran for office,” he said. “Things aren’t better now than they were four or five years ago. This has been a tough time for Derry. You see some shops that have been boarded up, and people who are running shops have indicated that business is trailing off. They expected things to get better in 2011. It hasn’t happened. You can’t blame George W. Bush anymore. President Obama is going to have to take responsibility for the fact that we’re still in a very troubled economy.”
Romney also hit on the rising unemployment number, and turned the discussion to jobs. “The president needs to recognize that there’s a crisis in this country and devote every ounce of his energy to getting Americans back to work,” he said. “It’s a loud and clear message that our president is just not connected with what’s happening in America, and his policies have failed us.”
