Clearly, there was a need for Republicans to show that their policies don't just amount to "trickle down economics" and will reverse the decades-long trend that the rich are getting richer and everyone else is stagnating.
They didn't. Romney & Co. merely asserted again and again that everyone can make it in America if they try. They didn't even re-quote John F. Kennedy's line, "A rising tide lifts all boats."
Moreover, except on the deficit front, Romney's economic plan closely resembles President George W. Bush's - which, Democrats endlessly assert, led to the mess we're in.
Indeed, the Washington Post poll showed that 54 percent of respondents hold Bush responsible for the economy and only 32 percent blame Obama.
No doubt, small business is a key engine of job creation in America, but there is also a need for public investment - in infrastructure, research and education - which was never mentioned at the GOP convention.
It may be that a five-paragraph summary, plus Romney's business record, plus heavy rhetoric about the virtues of free enterprise, plus all the Tampa box-checking will give the GOP ticket a momentary lift. But I'd bet it won't last through the coming week in Charlotte, N.C.
The prospect is for more weeks of a dead heat, at least into the debate season.
A man from Kentucky attends a Tea Party Patriots rally on the West Front of the Capitol to protest the IRS' targeting of conservative political groups.
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