September 2nd, 2012

Ann Romney reflects on RNC 2012

CNN’s Candy Crowley spoke with the wife of GOP presidential candidate Ann Romney on Friday, Aug. 31 about the 2012 RNC.  Crowley recounted that conversation during today’s CNN’s State of the Union with Candy Crowley, within the context of her overview of the convention:

CROWLEY: In general, much of the post-speech analysis said Mitt Romney capped off his convention with a solid speech that likely did his candidacy some good. Friday, I spoke with his wife, Ann Romney, who told me after it was over, the two of them did not rate the speech itself, but instead reflected on the love and support of family and friends.

ANN ROMNEY: I knew he had done a great job. And I think Mitt was pretty confident that, you know, he felt very good about his speech, and was very excited to deliver it. So it was very reflective last night, because, you know, a lot of people came into our lives through testimonials and different things that stood up and told a different side of Mitt than we have been hearing about from the attacks that have been coming our way.

And for me, I think that was the feeling that we had is just this gratitude that we had for the life that we have lived and for the lives of people that we have touched that stood up and said, you know, this is making us mad hearing about the attacks on this guy. And we know who he is.

CROWLEY: Both Ann and Mitt Romney and a good part of the convention spent a great deal of time reaching out to women voters. Polls show the Republican nominee trails among women voters by double- digits, I asked her about the so-called gender gap.

ROMNEY: I don’t look at it as a problem, I look at it as an opportunity, because — and that’s why I was grateful for our ability to let people see Mitt in a different light and to see how he has lived his life, to see the stories about his mother, and about the feelings she would have had last night seeing all of these elected women and the chance that we had from other women to stand up and say, you know, I have worked with this guy.

CROWLEY: The gap between women and men in the Republican Party has existed for nearly three decades, but Ann Romney told me she senses progress.

ROMNEY: I’m hearing from so many women that may not have considered voting for a Republican before that said it is time for the grown-up to come, the man that is going to have, that is going to take this very seriously and take the future of our children very, very seriously.

And I very much believe, Candy, that it is going to be an economic election and I think a lot of women may be voting in this cycle around in a different way than they usually are.

CROWLEY: The gender gap is not to close in a single election cycle, but if Mitt Romney is to win the White House it has to narrow. A lot of people think that Ann Romney whose own speech at the convention got raves can be a big help.

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