Well, I also found what I heard of the speech to be delivered in a flat, monotone style... Not exactly a firebrand...

But the speech by Romney was the more telling of the Repub strategy and one that could very easily backfire on them... He railed against "liberals", "the media" and the "eastern establishment"... This theme goes back to Daddy Bush and has been used effectively by both Jeb and George... The problem is that, IMO, this 2 decade old trick of trying to shift blame for failure on regions of the country, educated people and the media is stale and vulnerable...

I mean, if I am Obama, I use Romney's words in the first debate against the Repubs... Here's how he does it: "We've had two decades of the Republcans coming before the America people trying to shift the blame of their own failures onto educated people, the media and the folks who live on the east and west coasts. And here we are again with these same worn out and divisive Republican tactics while the American people are suffering from stagnant wages and unaffordable health care. I believe it's time that the Republican party live some of that personal responsibility that they have been preaching for the last 20 years..."

B~