Republican Convention: Biggest Moments of 2012

Aug. 31, 2012— -- intro: The Republican National Convention in Tampa was the party's biggest chance yet to showcase its candidate, Mitt Romney. Check out some of the biggest moments from the convention.

quicklist: 1title: Mitt Romney Accepts the Nomination text: Coming into the convention scarred from the attacks on his record at Bain Capital and the reignited "War on Women," Mitt Romney delivered a personal speech addressing his business career, his Mormon faith, and his love for his wife and kids.

"The centerpiece of the president's campaign is attacking success. ... In America, we celebrate success, we don't apologize for it," he declared.

"President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet," Romney said, in reference to Obama's environmental policies. "My promise is to help you and your family."

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quicklist: 2title: Marco Rubio's Inspirational Personal Storytext: Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., recounted the challenges encountered by his immigrant mother and father before introducing Mitt Romney on the final night of the Republican National Convention.

"They emigrated to America with little more than the hope of a better life," Rubio said. "My dad was a bartender. My mom was a cashier, a hotel maid and a stock clerk at K-Mart. They never made it big. They were never rich. And yet, they were successful -- because just a few decades removed from hopelessness, they made possible for us all the things that had been impossible for them.

"He stood behind a bar in the back of the room all those years, so one day I could stand behind a podium in the front of a room," Rubio added.

Rubio's parents fled Cuba and came to the United States in the 1950s.

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quicklist: 3title: Clint Eastwood Interviews Invisible Obamatext: Clint Eastwood was the Republican National Convention's "mystery guest" Thursday night, when he acted out an interview with an empty chair he said was occupied by President Obama.

"I got Mr. Obama sitting here and I was gonna ask him a couple questions," Eastwood drawled, turning his head toward the bare stool.

"Mr. President, how do you handle promises you made when you were running for election?" he asked. "What do you say to people?"

Eastwood cut off the interviewee: "I'm not gonna shut up. It's my turn," he said.

And then, again, to the chair: "What do you want me to tell Mr. Romney?"

"I can't tell him to do that," Eastwood responded. "He can't do that to himself. You're absolutely crazy. You're getting as bad as Biden!"

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quicklist: 4title: Paul Ryan's Moment In the National Spotlighttext: On the second the night of the convention, Rep. Paul Ryan stepped onto the national stage as his party's vice presidential nominee, promising that he and Mitt Romney would tackle the country's most difficult problems by fixing the economy and creating millions of new jobs.

"Whatever your political party, let's come together for the sake of our country," he said. "Join Mitt Romney and me. Let's give this effort everything we have. Let's see this through all the way. Let's get this done."

Ryan also took shots at President Obama for his health care plan and economic policies.

"Right now," he said, "23 million men and women are struggling to find work … nearly one in six Americans is living in poverty … so here's the question: Without a change in leadership, why would the next four years be any different from the last four years?"

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quicklist: 5title: Condoleezza Rice Speaks Sans Promptertext: Condoleezza Rice delivered a crowd-pleasing and hard-hitting speech on the state of U.S. foreign policy on the second night of the Republican National Convention without using any of the forum's teleprompters.

"Where does America stand? When our friends and our foes, alike, do not know the answer to that question, the world is a chaotic and dangerous place," said the former secretary of state.

Rice never addressed President Obama by name, but she issued a sharp rejection of his foreign policy.

"We cannot be reluctant to lead," Rice told fellow Republicans. "And you cannot lead from behind. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan understand this reality, that our leadership abroad and our well-being at home are inextricably linked."

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quicklist: 6title:Chris Christie's Unconventional Convention Speechtext:Chris Christie, known for his commanding and sometimes over-the-top demeanor, gave the keynote speech at the 2012 Republican convention.

"Our problems are big and the solutions will not be painless," he told Americans. "We all must share in the sacrifice. Any leader that tells us differently is simply not telling the truth."

Christie, the New Jersey governor, did not mention Mitt Romney's name until 17 minutes into his speech. Once he did, though, he said Romney would deal honestly with the country in fixing the economy and creating jobs.

"Mitt Romney will tell us the hard truths we need to hear to put us back on the path to growth and create good-paying private sector jobs again in America," he said.

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quicklist:7title:Ann Romney's Emotional Speechtext:Ann Romney, the wife of the GOP presidential nominee, told Americans at the 2012 Republican National Convention that they could trust her husband.

"This man will not let us down," she said.