Republican Convention: Biggest Moments of 2012

Aug. 29, 2012 -- intro: The Republican National Convention in Tampa is the party's biggest chance yet to showcase its candidate, Mitt Romney. Check out some of the biggest moments from the convention.

quicklist: 1title:Chris Christie's Unconventional Convention Speechtext:Chris Christie, known for his commanding and sometimes over-the-top demeanor, gave a rousing 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: 2title:Ann Romney's Emotional Speechtext:Ann Romney, the wife of the GOP Presidential nominee, told Americans at the 2012 Republican Nation Convention that they could trust her husband.

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

Mrs. Romney gave an emotional speech, saying, "Sometimes I think that late at night, if we were all silent for just a few moments and listened carefully, we could hear a great collective sigh from the moms and dads across America." She went on, "And if you listen carefully, you'll hear the women sighing a little bit more than the men."

Ms. Romney tried to connect with the women of America by declaring, "It's the moms of this nation -- single, married, widowed -- who really hold this country together." She looked out at the convention floor and said, "I love you women!"

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quicklist:4title:Mia Love's Star Debut on the National Stagetext: Mia Love, the Mormon, Haitian-American mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah made her star debut on the national stage Tuesday night in Tampa. She is running for Utah's Fourth Congressional District and was a featured speaker at the convention. If she is successful in her campaign in November, Love would be the first black woman Republican in Congress.

Before speaking , the Republican National Convention played an ad, "This Is Mia Love." Though she only had two minutes to speak at the convention podium, Love energized the crowd and brought the delegates to their feet.

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quicklist:5title:Scott Walker's Big Applausetext: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who successfully battled a recall attempt this year, seemed to get the biggest applause of the night when he spoke Tuesday.

"As was the case in Wisconsin two years ago, too many Americans think our country is headed in the wrong direction," Walker said. "But Mitt Romney understands, like I understand, that people — not governments — create jobs."

After praising Romney as the GOP presidential nominee, Walker also offered his support to fellow Wisconsin native Paul Ryan, Romney's vice presidential pick. Walker said that with the announcement of Ryan, Romney "showed he has the courage and the passion to be an exceptional president."

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quicklist:3title: Ron Paul's Rowdy Supporterstext:Though Ron Paul, a three-time GOP presidential candidate, was far from having enough votes to win the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, his delegates weren't going to go out without a fight. The delegates wanted their voices heard in support of Paul and they let everyone at convention know.

Ron Paul supporters, led by the rowdy Texas delegation, shouted at Rules Committee Chairman John Sununu and House Speaker John Boehner, yelling "point of order!" and " seat them now!"

The Paul supporters wanted a vote on new rules mainly aimed at curbing the power of grassroots supporters. They also called for the seating of Maine's delegation, which has a high concentration of Paul fans.

The disruptions did not end there.

One Texas delegate, a Ron Paul supporter, shouted every time Paul's name was mentioned. When a fellow Texas delegate scolded him, he offered an unenthusiastic apology and later went on shouting.

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