Mitt was in Silicon Valley yesterday. I had the opportunity to see him at two different events. First was an Ask Mitt Anything in Santa Clara. In the evening my wife and I attended a reception at Meg Whitman’s house (CEO of eBay and National Finance Co-Chair).
The AMA was very energizing. There were probably ~300-350 people in the room. It was standing room only. He started with his regular stump speech talking about his background in the private sector, the fact that our country is at an inflection point with all of the challenges foreign and domestic that we face, that we Republicans need to clean our own house and the change begins with us, and the differences between himself and the Democrat candidates.
He then focused a bit on some of his signature issues: lower taxes, including zero tax on savings, interest, dividends, universal health insurance, but not with a government take-over a la Hillary care, committing to win the war on Islamic Fascism (with some commentary on Ahmedinejad), strong military, strong economy, and strong families.
After his prepared remarks, he took about 45 min of Q&A where he covered entitlement reform, SCHIP, Immigration, Education & NCLB, and Greenspan’s recent criticisms of Republicans. Interestingly he got no questions about the War in Iraq or the broader war on Islamic Fascism. Not sure why that is. Perhaps people are tired of talking about the war. Or, perhaps people don’t perceive a large difference between the Republican candidates on the war, so they focused on domestic issues.
Overall, it was a great event and well received. When Mitt finished, he was given a standing ovation by the audience.
Later that evening, my wife and I attended a fundraising reception at Meg Whitman’s home. It is a large New England style home with a large and beautifully maintained back yard. It was a perfect venue for the event.
Meg started out by introducing Mitt, talking about her days at Bain & Company and how everybody wanted to get on Mitt’s case teams because of his reputation for being a great manager, mentor, and coach…someone you could learn a lot from. She then talked about his track record at Bain Capital, the Olympics, and as Governor of Massachusetts.
Mitt then spoke for about 15-20 minutes. It was a different speech than the one he gave in the afternoon, though hit many of the same themes. It somehow felt a bit more relaxed. Perhaps that’s the difference between being at a formal banquet facility vs. at a good friend’s house in the backyard.
After the remarks, again Mitt took questions for about 45 minutes. This time the questions focused on the War against Islamic Jihad, Iraq, and Immigration. A couple other questions…I think there was one on education, but overall, much more focused on the war and immigration. Again, not sure why that was, but it is an interesting contrast.
The highlight of the evening for me was after the remarks. Mitt spent some time shaking hands and mingling with the crowd. I got to shake his hand, get his autograph, and snap a photo with him on my camera phone!
Overall, a big day for a big Mitt fan! I am even more energized to do whatever I can to help him get the nomination. Seeing him in person reinforces how well spoken, thoughtful, smart, and capable he is. He has great presence. Very approachable and friendly, but also carries himself with great dignity. I can definitely see him as our next President.
Our Rally for Romney in the Bay Area is coming up! For those of you in the Bay Area, details are below after the jump…sign up here! Not only do you help Mitt get the nomination and build his supporter base, you’ll get an exclusive Mitt bobble-head doll as well!
Alternatively, if you don’t want to call, but you do want to give, click here! The important thing is to support Mitt.
By the way, Romney just won the Michigan Straw Poll (story here). This makes four out of the six early states where he’s got a demonstrated lead (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Michigan). Romney is well positioned to go all the way, but the next three months are going to be a “kill zone” where his opponents are going to train all their firepower on him. He will need all of our help to propel him to the nomination!
More »
Share on Facebook
Share This
It was just so awesome! I’d have to say that the best sign that I saw was a FHE w/Mitt one. For those of you who aren’t LDS our church has one night a week (called Family Home Evening..aka FHE) where you come together as a family (normally it’s on a Monday night), and you share a lesson or just be with your family. Well, since Mitt did his rally on Monday how funny to see a sign saying that. How appropriate. Made me really laugh. 
