Why you should care about Ann Romney

With the Republican National Convention this week, all eyes will turn toward presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Perhaps they should instead be on the woman by his side, his wife, Ann Romney.

Mitt Romney’s campaign team is privy to this, as well, which is evident by their swift switch of the RNC schedule to position Ann Romney’s speech on prime-time national television.

The question is, can she change Mitt Romney’s image with just one speech?

With more than a quarter of Americans undecided about who they will vote for in November, I think so.

Mitt Romney has problems with the average voter. As the Los Angeles Times puts it, “In almost every poll, more voters than not see him in a negative light.”

The article makes a valid point. Voters have failed to connect with Mitt Romney on a personal level.

Instead we hear of his wealth, his refusal to release his tax returns and his time at Bain Capital. To make it worse, Democrats have strategically filled in the unknown spaces of his life with corruption.

How should they solve this problem? By utilizing the woman who knows Mitt best, the campaign team is cleverly allowing us to see Mitt as a husband and father rather than a wealthy businessman.
Mitt Romney has had a problem reeling in female voters, and Ann Romney can help improve her husband’s numbers with them, especially with stay-at-home mothers, who only slightly favor Obama.

Mitt Romney has a reputation of being disconnected from the Average Joe. Fifty-two percent of polled voters said Obama cares more about the average person than Romney.

This is a number that has to change if Mitt Romney wants to win. If there is one woman who can alter it, it’s Ann Romney.

Ann Romney has had her own media blunders, yet she’s campaigned hard for her husband, attempting to personalize him as much as possible by sharing anecdotes, telling their love story and citing his steadfastness during her multiple sclerosis as moments when she was most proud of him.

She has the opportunity to do this on national prime-time television to an audience of iffy voters.

She needs to paint the picture for America of a loving husband, a dedicated father and, most importantly, a nice guy. It is widely known that the candidate you’d rather have a beer with is the one most likely to win, and I think Ann Romney can convince America to have a beer with her husband.

The pressure’s on, Ann Romney.

However, knowing the Romneys, it’s highly possible some sort of media blunder will occur. It could be a phrase including “you people” or a side note about how many Cadillacs she owns.

Either way, she’s one to watch.

­— crshelle@indiana.edu