Ralph Nader, John Stossel will also debate during the IMPACT week.
The speakers at this year’s IMPACT Symposium will focus on “The Future of Capitalism,” bringing the spotlight to the U.S. for the first time in recent years.
Journalist John Stossel and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader will kick off the two-day event on March 30 with a point-counterpoint discussion titled “Business or the consumer first?” and Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney will present on “American Capitalism in the World” the following night, according to Speakers Committee co-chairs Heather Borowski and Theo Samets. Audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions after each speech.
“When I applied to chair IMPACT for this year, my goal was to bring the impact home,” Samets said. “Since Heather and I have been here, the theme of impact has always been foreign-policy related. For me, my first priority was really to have a domestic impact.”
Borowski echoed the current need to focus on the state of the country.
“The recession has given us a great opportunity to focus more internally. Society is trying to re-evaluate what to do,” Borowski said. “To bring in three prominent personalities to discuss that when clearly there are no right answers at this point is going to be interesting.”
Speakers Committee, part of Vanderbilt Programming Board, has planned and hosted IMPACT Symposium since 1964, featuring speakers to discuss controversial and current events during the two- to three-day event. This will be the first symposium since the death of former Chancellor Alexander Heard, who helped conceive the idea for the student-run event. His legacy will be honored the first night of the symposium, Samets said.
A great amount of chatter around the ‘Net this evening commenting, in a nutshell, that Mitt Romney is “running.” Told ya!
Listen to the rock star reception that Mitt was given as he was introduced by David Keene. Gov. Romney hit all the right chords of conservatism. Something that struck me about his CPAC speech was that he sounded very much like the same Mitt Romney that I personally heard speak several times when I worked the Iowa Caucuses in Des Moines over a year ago. He sounded very much like the Mitt Romney that I heard making stump addresses and very much like the same Mitt Romney in last years’ debates. My point being that, regardless of the baseless and spurious charges leveled against him by the MSM, Gov. Romney delivers the same conservative message, whether he is “preaching to the choir” at CPAC, or stumping for votes in Keokuk, Iowa.
With the 2008 Summer Olympics upcoming in Beijing soon, I figured it would be neat to dig into the archives of the site and show you Gov. Romney’s Opening and Closing Remarks at the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics.
I can’t believe I never put these up before, but tonight as I was blogging for another blog and searching for Sarah Hughes’ Gold Medal Performance I found Mitt Romney’s remarks, so I figured better late than never time to get them up here. And without further adieu, here they are.
Salt Lake City 2002 OC - Mitt Romney’s Opening Speech
Salt Lake City 2002 CC - Mitt Romney’s Closing Speech
I had a thought today to go back and compare the Presidential Announcement speeches of both Mitt and McCain. I thought it would be interesting to see how well defined their focus was almost a year ago (Mitt announced in February, McCain in April), and how their campaigns have evolved since then. It would be interesting to hear what differences you notice between the two speeches, and any discrepancies you see between what each candidate was saying then versus now.
For me, the obvious difference was how much broader Mitt’s vision was (and is), compared to McCain’s. Notice as you read through them, that McCain mentions absolutely nothing about families, while Mitt’s speech is abundant in references to his family and the need to strenghthen America’s families. Next, as you scroll down Mitt’s speech, especially towards the end, there are a lot of “we’s” and us’s” throughout. Scrolling through McMe’s speech, there are a lot of “I’s” and “me’s.” The very last sentence is actually very indicative of McCain’s whole approach to the Presidency:
I’m running for President of the United States, a blessed country, a proud country, a hopeful country, the most powerful and prosperous country and the greatest force for good on earth. And when I’m President, I intend to keep it so.”
Contrast this with Mitt’s last statement:
With freedom, nothing can hold us back.
“Freedom has made the American dream possible. Freedom will make the new American dream possible. And with the work, sacrifice, and greatness of spirit of the American people, freedom has made America - and will keep America - the greatest nation on earth. God bless The United States of America.”
I’ve been frustrated over the past 6 months or so with conservatives complaining that there is no true Reagan conservative in the race - no one upholding the 3-legged stool that Reagan advocated. Mitt has been putting forth this conservative message all along, beginning with his speech:
At this critical time, we must first transform the role we play in the world [i.e. strong military], secondly strengthen our nation [strong economy], and third build a brighter future for the American family [strong families].
So my question to the conservative pundits is - where have you guys been? Letting the MSM do your homework and thinking for you, without even bothering to check something as basic as the candidate’s announcement speeches to see what platform they are really running on. Let’s hope the recent wave of endorsements, while positive and welcome, aren’t too little too late!
Mitt’s speech is excellent, McCain’s speech is very telling. Check them both out and share what you think!
(One last note, I’m not sure about McCain, but I know that Mitt writes most or all of his own speeches, including this one and his Faith in America speech.)
As I watched the NH primary coverage tonite and saw the video of Hillary tearing up as she talked about the stress of the campaign trail, I couldn’t help but reminisce about the wild ride that the Clinton’s have taken us all on during their time on the political stage.
I remember watching Bill Clinton address the Democratic Convention in 1988. I had heard the name several times, but at that time I had never heard him speak. I remember thinking, “So this is that Southern governor I have been hearing about.” He had a very average speaking style, and it seemed to me that he mostly just strung platitudes together and gave long, “meaningful” looks at his audience. One of the things that struck me about that speech was how Bill Clinton loved the sound of his own voice. He droned on and on and toward the end, the Democratic delegates were booing and heckling him! Did that cause him to bring the speech to a swift solution? No way. If the audience had eggs and tomatoes available, I am sure they would have flung them at the Governor.
Imagine my surprise, when four years later the Left, aided and abetted by the MSM, foisted this same Bill Clinton upon an unsuspecting public!
Draft dodging, “loathing the military”, smoking but “not inhaling”, trying to define “what ‘is’ is”, Gennifer Flowers, “don’t ask, don’t tell”, Janet Reno, firing cruise missiles at aspirin factories, Monica Lewinski, “I feel your pain”, impeachment, last minute pardons of a rogues’ gallery of campaign contributors and police characters, these are and will remain Bill Clinton’s legacy.
As we begun the campaign a year ago Hillary Clinton looked formidable. The heir apparent of the White House by virtue of the backing of the vaunted “Clinton Machine”, what then appeared to be virtually limitless cash,the darling of the Hollywood glitterati and the recipient of mostly glowing articles by the liberal press, it didn’t seem possible that anyone could snatch the brass ring from her hand. But that was then and this is now.
One year later the speculation has started to percolate up into the headlines that HRC may be contemplating withdrawing from the race if she gets blown out by O’bama in the NH primary. If these stories turn out to be true and she is forced to withdraw from the race, I will breath a sigh of relief, not because I take any personal pleasure in her situation, but only because I see a threat to the well being of this country thankfully receding.
On a more upbeat note, it was good to see Governor Romney dominate the debate at the FOX forum last night and to see the way the “dial group” was so dramatically converted after viewing the forum. Huckabee looked weak and evasive to me, McCain comes across as arrogant and mean spirited, Rudy and Fred weren’t much of a factor. So that leaves the only “full spectrum conservative” in the race, Gov. Romney, as the candidate best suited to bring change to Washington and to start the process of restoring conservative principles into the way we govern.
~~John Cronin~~
I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion.”
Thomas Jefferson: Letter to William Charles Jarvis, Sept. 28, 1820
The following comment was left by Dana Maryla at the post below by Ann Marie showing the new, 2-minute ad by Governor Romney. Though I strongly disagree with just about every position taken by Senator Obama, his rhetoric is obviously attractive and I would dare say, mesmerizing. In part, this is because he uses language that is inviting. He uses language that all charismatic leaders use. His rhetoric is inclusive of “the people” — the founders of America used this language often in their speeches and in just about every document they drafted.
JFK and Reagan, both master communicators, used this language in one form or another in just about every speech they gave (think of the JFK speech to set the goal to place man on the moon or Reagan’s speech at the Berllin wall as he evoked the silenced voices of the people). Recall the great speeches of WWII by Churchill — “We will never surrender!” (Thank you Pink Floyd).
The great thing is that this comes naturally to Governor Romney. I was fortunate to attend every public speech (6) Governor Romney gave last Thursday in Des Moines as part of the press pool, and in every speech, he said he could not have accomplished what he did without the help of many people.
By Dana:
Mitt, I’m all for you. ….but your message is missing a key component….Too much talk about what YOU can for US in Washington. Instead tell speak about what WE can do, about what a WASHINGTON that listens to US with YOU in charge can do.
You must give the people a feeling that THEY are doing things, not just YOU.
A government that is FAIR, that LISTENS to the people, and RESPONDS is what you mean by CHANGE. The American PEOPLE are FAIR…and the answer always lies with them, even if good guys like you help it along. Don’t talk about yourself so much.
What I think is great about this suggestion is that it would be very easy for Governor Romney to incorporate into just about everything he communicates in interviews, ads, debates, etc. (as Obama does). There is something inspirational and motivational that transforms a person who feels invited and included by a great leader. The language shifts from a focal point being on the leader to the focal point of a small group — the group that includes me, Governor Romney, and our team. That is transforming communication that converts language from merely hearing the spoken word, to a message that envelopes the person; his feelings. That is a powerful, rhetorical difference.
I believe Governor Romney could easily make this simple, but powerful change because it is what he is all about. Just read his book Turnaround. Clearly, he views himself as the classic servant leader. Governor Romney has been an inspirational leader his entire life.
Well, after spending all day in airplanes and airports yesterday, I made it back to wet California. I can say I definitely prefer wet over arctic. Finally, I was able to see the photos I had taken in Iowa and decided to do a quick post on the trip. I have not been able to read every post on our blog yet, so if I post information or photos similar to those of Jeff, Nate, Paul, or Jason, I apologize.
First though, I am posting information that I found interesting. I did not see these YouTubes posted in this blog, so I am posting them now. Many of you may have seen these, and if so, skip them to the photos below.
On caucus day, Jeff Fuller and I, along with Jason Bonham (MMM) and Steven Tylicki, were with the press pool that attended every event at which Governor Romney gave a speech (five as I recall). As we boarded the Romney media bus for our last round of stops and waited for others to join, Jeff was reviewing news and came across Amanda Carpenters blog post at Townhall.com in which she recounts details from a conversation she overheard of Ed Rollins. Right after reading the post on the bus, Amanda boarded the bus and received a number of congratulations and high fives. Later that night, her post hit the national news as Christ Wallace grilled Rollins. I love how Rollins does everything he can to evade and distract. I also love the reaction of Brit Hume at the end. CLASSIC! What is it about this Ed Rollins guy?
And then this from Glenn Beck. Apparently Beck had some kind of surgery and was at home recovering when he made this recording. You have to watch this all the way to the end. He is quite funny. I love his facial expressions and sarcasm:
As mentioned at other times in this blog, my favorite hobby since my youth is photography. In Iowa, I took around 300 photographs. These are among my favorites. I may post more later.
This first one was at our second campaign stop on caucus day. We stopped at what we were told is a Fortune 500 company (the only one in Iowa?), Krause Gentle. It was refreshing for the president of the company to come out and introduce Governor Romney and tell all his employees that he and his company endorse him for President.
This first shot is during the company president’s introduction of Governor Romney. I believe the Governor is holding Craig’s and Mary’s son, one of his grandsons.
This photograph includes Mary Romney and Dan Jantzen:
Right after the speech, Governor Romney spotted these two little girls with a microphone. One looked like she was 7 years old and the other 6 years old. Their teacher held the video cam. They were from the “Scholastic News Network” and had also interviewed Jeff Fuller as we entered the building:
Jeff Fuller and I were literally about six feet from Governor Romney during this speech. Immediately following the speech, Governor Romney stepped off the platform and walked over to Jeff standing beside me. I did not catch the whole exchange, but Governor Romney said something like, “Hey Jeff, good to see you! I didn’t know you were here in Iowa! Thanks for being here and for the support. I heard you recently moved to Louisiana. . . “ As many of you know, Jeff was instrumental in laying the organizational groundwork for the campaign in Iowa over a year ago and had several meetings with Governor Romney then. Knowing that the Governor meets thousands of people a week and that he had not seen Jeff in quite some time, it was most impressive to experience Governor Romney’s perfect memory. This photograph below is of Jeff standing at the flag that was the backdrop to the speech:
The following was taken at the end of the caucuses. Incidentally, I saw or heard some report that indicated that reporters outnumbered caucus goers and other Iowans at the Romney campaign stops that day. ANY REPORT YOU SEE TO THAT EFFECT IS FALSE. Every event we attended in the press pool had anywhere from 200 to 800 people with no more than 50 members of the media. The first stop, Principle Financial, one of the largest employers in the state, had the most media set up and did not exceed 50 people. There were at least 500 employees in attendance.
If any of you ever have the opportunity to go to a primary state to volunteer in the campaign, do it. That was a wonderful experience all the way around. Governor Romney has the best people working in his organization!
One of the nice things about this document is that it provides the text to a number of Romney’s major speeches. I spent some time reading the text of these speeches and was struck by how powerful and well thought out they are. They are worth reading.
Below is the text of the speech Romney delivered at the 2007 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
“The mainstream media is surprised that we’re here. They wrote our obituary last fall. Course, they’ve written our obituary before: after Watergate, after the 82 midterm elections, after Iran-contra, and after Bill Clinton’s election. The truth is that their wishful thinking reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated. In fact, I predict that we’ll be around a lot longer than . . . say, newspapers.
“No, conservatism is alive and well. And it is needed more than ever. America faces a new generation of challenges, critical challenges. Today is similar in many respects to what we faced as a nation 30 years ago, looking at the menacing face of communism.
“In fact, 30 years ago, in this very conference, one man stood up and told America what was needed. It was conservatism, a new coalition of conservatives that would lead to a brighter future for the nation. Ronald Reagan said this: ‘What I envision is not simply a melding together of the two branches of American conservatism into a temporary uneasy alliance, but the creation of a new, lasting majority.’ And here is where he said that this conservative alliance would lead: ‘I have seen the conservative future, and it works.’
I am obviously playing catch-up with my print edition of the WSJ, but this story is very much relevant even though it’s a few days old.
The results are clear. In the battle of “significant” campaign speeches, Mitt Romney’s Dec.6 “Faith In America” address has crushed Rudy Giuliani’s Dec. 15 “closing argument” campaign speech in one key barometer of buzz: YouTube.
As of Monday, a clip of Mr. Romney’s much anticipated address, in which he defended his Mormonism and explained the need for expressions of faith in public life, garnered 46,437 views and some 1,500 comments on the popular video-sharing website.
Mr. Giuliani, speaking to about 200 supporters in Tampa, stressed his leadership qualities and unveiled his new slogan: “Tested. Ready. Now.” His campaign had billed it as the former prosecutor’s “closing argument” for the Republican presidential nomination. The jury appears unconvinced, however. As of Monday, a clip of the speech had been viewed only 1,106 times and it drew no comments.
To me, it is very ironic, that Mike Huckabee’s shameless playing of the religion card, which had the effect of re-introducing an issue that many felt had been taken out of American presidential politics by John F. Kennedy’s speech in Houston, Texas back in 1960, has produced one of the best moments of the campaign thus far and has generated the “buzz” that all politicians hope for, but few attain. It is also ironic that the Romney campaign was at first reluctant to give the speech, understandably and justifiably so. Gov. Romney has run his campaign on the theme of the “three legged stool” of a strong economy, a strong military and strong families. He did not intend to run a campaign based on religion or he would have incorporated it into the original theme.
However, former Gov. Huckabee had a different idea and chose to emphasize religion as a major plank in his platform. I wonder if Mr. Huckabee is having any second thoughts about opening the door on an issue that has now turned into a major gift in disguise.
