Paul Ryan cracks old man Romney joke and other Wednesday zingers

Cracking a joke at your running mate's expense is a rare RNC speech manoeuvre, but Paul Ryan pulled it off last night, poking fun at Mitt Romney's old-man taste in music. Some, however, might question his assertion that AC/DC is superior to Muzak.

Also, BuzzFeed gathers some of Wednesday's worst keynote jokes.

 

Reagan had courage to curb guns, GOP told

Despite four mass shootings in as many weeks and gun violence spiking in Detroit and Chicago, American dialogue on all the bang-bang seems as far away as ever.

Here in Tampa, meanwhile, the GOP's continuing fetishization of the Ronald Reagan era proceeds apace. And so today, in an open letter to Republican delegates, Jim Brady brought these two disparate thoughts together very nicely, reminding the party faithful that among his many other attributes, Reagan was an active campaigner for gun control.

You may remember that Brady, a former Reagan press secretary, took a bullet to the head during the March, 1981, assassination attempt on Reagan. Since leaving the White House, he and his wife Sarah have worked tirelessly for life-saving gun policies, including the Brady Bill that introduced background checks for gun purchases when it was signed into law by Bill Clinton in 1993.

Brady, who turns 72 today, urged neo-Reaganites in Tampa that "President Reagan not only supported (gun control legislation) but worked actively to assure their passage, as did all but one living president. Republicans worked with Democrats to do what was right for the country."They understood then, as we must understand now, that, as a nation, we are better than this," said Brady, whose online campaign live here.

Brady is urging delegates to "help your nominee, Mitt Romney, by telling him not to be afraid ... to join the national conversation" on firearms. With the National Rifle Association distracting delegates with events like Tuesday's skeet shooting competition in nearby Land O'Lakes, Fla., the odds of Brady's plea hitting home are slim indeed.But give him points for never letting up. And for readying to deliver the same message to Charlotte, N.C., for next week's Democratic National Convention.

Ann Romney's Oscar de la Renta dress raises eyebrows

The fire-truck red Oscar de la Renta dress Ann Romney wore during her keynote speech Tuesday night at the Republican National Convention undoubtedly fit the party's fashion profile, but her choice of designer has raised suspicion there may have been an anti-Obama rationale to her decision.

Michelle Obama, for the uninitiated, has never donned a de la Renta number during her stint as First Lady. She wore a turquoise Maria Pinto dress during her 2008 Democratic National Convention speech.

De la Renta, an American designer and longtime go-to for past First Ladies, hasn't shied away from criticizing Obama's wardrobe choices over the past four years. In 2009, he lambasted Obama, who prefers lesser-known designers, for consistently choosing European outfitters over American ones and, later, for wearing a sweater to meet Queen Elizabeth II.

Two years later he swiped at her choice of Alexander McQueen for a state dinner with Chinese president Hu Jintao:

“My understanding,” de la Renta told Women's Wear Daily, “is that the visit was to promote American-Chinese trade — American products in China and Chinese products in America. Why do you wear European clothes?”

For what it's worth, Obama has worn outfits designed by de la Renta's son Moises.

Nevertheless, could Romney's $1,990 dress (or was it $2,490?) have been a political statement, a jab at Obama's affinity for European designers and failure to recognize an American fashion icon who has dressed Laura Bush, Nancy Reagan and Hillary Clinton?

Or, maybe she just liked the cut.

RNC mystery speaker: Clint Eastwood reportedly en route to Tampa

Wily Republicans organizing the GOP convention have fomented widespread Internet speculation over the unannounced so-called "mystery speaker" expected to take the podium at the RNC Thursday night.

The speaker will slot in between former American Idol star Taylor Hicks and Florida Senator Marco Rubio on the convention's final night. Mitt Romney makes his nomination acceptance speech after Rubio.

The rumour is swirling, natch.

Will it be Sarah Palin, who is currently campaigning in Arizona for Republican congressional candidate Kirk Adams? Nancy Reagan, wife of Republican god Ronald, the 40th president of the United States? Or, as some Tweeters have fantasized, a holographic Ronald Reagan/Tupac Shakur duet, a la Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre's collaboration with the dead rapper at the Coachella music festival in April?

News broke Wednesday morning that Oscar-winning actor and director Clint Eastwood is on his way to Tampa. While nothing has been confirmed, the high-profile Eastwood, who stars in the upcoming film Trouble with the Curve, seems a perfect fit to speak before Romney takes the stage. Dirty Harry endorsed Romney earlier this month following speculation he was in the Obama camp after performing in a gruff, melodramatic Super Bowl halftime ad supporting the auto bailout.

 

Romney's team told ABC News Tuesday they're as in the dark as the rest of us.

Ann Romney and Chris Christie speeches on Tuesday

Ann Romney took to the stage Tuesday night to speak about her husband. The Star's Mitch Potter writes about it here.

Just in case you missed the speeches, here they are:

 

And earlier Tuesday evening, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie gave a rousing speech:

 

Paul Ryan preps for career-defining speech

Trip Gabriel of the New York Times looks at one the RNC's most-anticipated speeches: Represenative Paul Ryan's acceptance of the vice-presidential nomination Wednesday night. The speech, shrouded in secrecy, was co-written by Matthew Scully, who penned former Alaska governor and vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin's RNC speech in 2008.

Here, a small taste of the NYT piece:

"Unlike many past vice-presidential convention addresses, when speechwriters parachute in a few days before deadline, Mr. Scully and his writing partner, John McConnell, were told to close their word processors for a week and travel with Mr. Ryan on the campaign trail. Their assignment was to soak up his speaking style on the stump, hear his thoughts about what he wanted to say,  get to know him.

'We would sit at the front of the plane and kick around ideas with Paul,' the adviser said. 'They would sort of interview him about his life.'

The speech will have three components, according to the campaign: Mr. Ryan will describe his life story, he will deconstruct the record and agenda of the Obama administration, and he will sing the praises of Mr. Romney."

Timothy Dolan and Meir Soloveichik, religious leaders in RNC limelight

In the run-up to the RNC, there was much talk over which religious leader would deliver the invocation (now scheduled for just after 2 p.m. ET Tuesday) and closing prayers.

While Mitt Romney, a practicing Mormon, has notably offered little insight into his faith, the rumour mill churned with speculation that a representative from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would be given opening or closing honours.

By now, we know it wasn't meant to be. The GOP pegged Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik, who is somewhat of a superstar in Modern Orthodox circles, to recite the invocation and New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, to offer closing prayers.

It seems clear that tabbing Dolan is a well-timed gambit by Romney to steer Catholic voters away from Obama, who recently endorsed same-sex marriage and is in a simmering war with Catholic bishops over his administration's requirement that health insurance plans for Catholic hospital and school workers cover birth control. Dolan, of course, has sided with the bishops.

Yet, a Dolan spokesperson told the New York Times last week that the cardinal's speech does not amount to an endorsement. And the Archdiocese of New York confirmed Tuesday that Dolan will also recite closing prayers next month at the Democratic National Convention.

Soloveichik, it seems, won't be playing both sides. He testified in Congress last February on the employee health insurance question and also co-authored a Wall Street Journal op-ed on the matter. That's but a glimpse into Soloveichik's long history as a conservative advocate, which Tablet magazine discusses at length in a Monday profile. 

A frequent contributor to Commentary, a right-leaning magazine, Soloveichik, director of the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at New York's Yeshiva University, has burnished his conservative credentials over the years by defending torture, opposing stem-cell research and protesting Roe v. Wade.

But he does love Harry Potter, Tablet reports.

Ann Romney RNC speech and heartstring politics

Forget Christie. Forget Haley. Forget Santorum. Forget Walker. Forget Ryan. Forget platform politics and the economy. Heck, forget Tropical Storm Isaac.

Ann Romney had a miscarriage! The wife of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee spoke candidly Tuesday on CBS's "This Morning" Tuesday about a previously undisclosed miscarriage she had in her 40s. Mitt Romney, sitting next to her, looked surprised when Ann relayed the heart-wrenching account of her son Craig's devastation at the news.

What a setup as the buzz ahead of Tuesday night's RNC keynotes speeches swirls around Mitt's wife. Initially slotted to speak Monday night, which would have kept her off primetime television, the RNC used pesky Tropical Storm Isaac to its advantage by moving Ann's speech to Tuesday night.

The world will bask in her glow.

The problem, of course, is that we might already be a bit sunburnt. Ann's talking points are so well-worn they're practically Republican Bible verse.

Here, the Los Angeles Times reminds us of a favourite Ann Romney nugget:

"In 2008, after her husband withdrew from the gruelling race for the GOP presidential nomination, Ann Romney made a personal campaign promise: "I am never going to do this again."

"You know what, Ann?" replied Mitt Romney, father of her five sons. "You said that after every pregnancy."

Telling that favourite family story to a jovial hometown crowd in Michigan last February, Ann delivered the punch line: "I guess I didn't really mean it."

Comments like those make Republican voters coo and awww and maybe chuckle once or twice. The rest ask this simple question: Why do we care?

Well, if the world can be convinced Mitt is marriage (and father) material, then it can be convinced he's a good enough guy to occupy the White House. Ann is her husband's greatest image counsellor, just as Michelle Obama was Barack's at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Simple as that.

As a former campaign director for George W. Bush tells CBS:

"In some ways her job is to illuminate for the rest of us what made him a wonderful husband and father. What drives him? What is about it that she loves?"

But Ann's greatest challenge, Ed Rogers of the Washington Post points out, will be avoiding language and imagery that paints the Romney family's wholesomeness as distant from the average American. She'll have to find a discursive way of talking about her battles with multiple sclerosis and breast cancer while sidestepping the Romneys' relative privilege. Says Rogers:

"If Ann Romney presents a picture of Mitt Romney and their family that is too perfect, cynical viewers and commentators could compare it to their own lives and decide the Romneys live in a surreal world and can't possibly relate to the average American. It will be hard for Ann Romney to effectively and gracefully talk about their family challenges and her own battle with cancer in order to humanize her husband and convince others that the Romneys do appreciate the real problems Americans face."

But back to that initial question: Why do we care? Over at Slate, Alyssa Rosenberg writes this is all hogwash. With Ann's speech unlikely to tell viewers anything they haven't already heard, Rosenberg suggests she be kept off the air.

"Predictability is what makes it entirely justifiable to not air Ann Romney's speech. It's hard to imagine that Mrs. Romney is going to attempt to sell audiences on a significantly revised portrait of her husband, or make any news."

Ann Romney is expected to speak around 10:30 p.m. ET.

Tuesday look-ahead

It's time to decamp from the storm cellar to the family-room couch: the Republican National Convention begins today after a day-long setback courtesy of Tropical Storm Isaac.