For Romney Campaign, Today Is About Tomorrow: Reporter's Notebook

Credit: Jake Whitman/ABC

SANFORD, Fla. - Mitt Romney's admirers waited for his arrival here today, wearing their pre- Election Day finest.

Flag sweaters had red, white and blue buttons. One woman even had a giant silver elephant dangling from her neck.

They are here not because they need motivation - most of them say they have already voted - but because they are looking for inspiration. No fewer than three of Romney's warm-up speakers referred to President Reagan's famous line about a "shining city on a hill" as they looked forward to a Romney victory.

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It seemed as if nearly all of Florida's Republican office-holders, past and present, had been shipped in for the rally. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, current Gov. Rick Scott, former Sen. Mel Martinez, even the Agriculture Commissioner, Adam Putnam, all made appearances on the podium, rallying the crowd with references to Obamacare and the death of the U.S. ambassador in Benghazi, Libya.

A gaggle of teenage boys cheered loudly at every opportunity, pausing in embarrassment when they realized they'd applauded after a speaker said one in six Americans lives in poverty.

Credit: Katie Hinman

But the boys, and the rest of the crowd, turned up the volume as Mitt Romney took the stage.

"Tomorrow we begin a new tomorrow," he said. "Tomorrow we begin a better tomorrow. This nation is going to change for the better tomorrow…. We can begin a better tomorrow, tomorrow and with the help of the people in Florida that is exactly what is going to happen."

And with just over 24 hours to go before the polls close, today is all about tomorrow.

Credit: Jake Whitman/ABC

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