TAMPA, Fla. - Mitt Romney claimed the Republican nomination for president Thursday, introducing himself to millions of Americans as a can-do executive and warmhearted family man who is all set to make Barack Obama a one-term president.
"If I am elected president of these United States, I will work with all my energy and soul to restore that America, to lift our eyes to a better future," Romney was to say, according to prepared remarks released by his campaign.
"That future is our destiny. That future is out there. It is waiting for us. Our children deserve it, our nation depends upon it, the peace and freedom of the world require it. And with your help we will deliver it. Let us begin that future together tonight."
In the most important address of his career, the former Massachusetts governor planned to make the case for a smaller and more conservative government that will encourage job creation and reduction of the federal deficit.
"What America needs is jobs," Romney was to say. "Lots of jobs."
To that end, Romney outlined a five-point economic plan that stressed energy independence, job training and education, free and fair trade, a tight federal budget and the elimination of regulations that hamper small business.
The speech excerpts were short on details of Romney's economic plan, but the nominee said he would be able to create 12 million new jobs.
"I am running for president to help create a better future - a future where everyone who wants a job can find one, where no senior fears for the security of their retirement, an America where every parent knows that their child will get an education that leads them to a good job and a bright horizon," Romney said in the speech excerpts.
The speech kicks off what many see as an epic campaign against President Obama, who will be formally renominated next week at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.
In the speech excerpts, Romney wasn't shy about taking the fight directly to the sitting president.
"To the majority of Americans who now believe that the future will not be better than the past, I can guarantee you this: If Barack Obama is re-elected, you will be right," Romney was to say.
At the same time, Romney planned to counter Democratic arguments that, in the words of former GOP Chairman Haley Barbour, Romney is "a wealthy plutocrat who's married to a known equestrian."
In the Romney view of Romney, the GOP nominee is someone who succeeded in business through hard work.
"That business we started with 10 people has now grown into a great American success story," he was to say of the private equity firm he started, Bain Capital.
"Some of the companies we helped start are names you know," he said in his prepared remarks, citing Staples and the Sports Authority.
"At a time when nobody thought we'd ever see a new steel mill built in America, we took a chance and built one in a cornfield in Indiana. Today Steel Dynamics is one of the largest steel producers in the United States."
Romney also intended to use the speech to show the more personal side of a candidate who is often criticized for stiffness on the campaign trail and who, polls show, strikes voters as far less likable than Obama.
To counter that impression, Romney planned to describe the home he and his wife found in the Mormon church as a young couple.
"Like a lot of families in a new place with no family, we found kinship with a wide circle of friends through our church," he was to say. "When we were new to the community it was welcoming, and as the years went by, it was a joy to help others who had just moved to town or just joined our church.
"We had remarkably vibrant and diverse congregations of all walks of life and many who were new to America. We prayed together, our kids played together, and we always stood ready to help each other out in different ways."
Romney's speech capped a truncated three-day convention that aims to give Republicans a boost in a tight presidential race. Romney appeared ready for his big night.
"It will be my privilege to stand at the podium to accept the nomination," he wrote in an email to supporters Thursday morning. "And I will stand not just for every supporter, and not just for the Republican Party - I'll stand for every American who believes our best days are ahead."
Thursday's grand convention finale did not mark the candidate's first foray into the convention hall. He joined his wife, Ann, on Tuesday following her delivery of a speech that received widespread acclaim.
And he quietly walked onto the podium Thursday at 4:15 p.m., familiarizing himself with the Teleprompter as hundreds of surprised conventioneers already in the arena snapped pictures. Speakers at the Thursday session appeared chosen according to their ability to achieve the strategists' goal of introducing their candidate.
The founder of Staples praised Romney from the podium, as did other executives whose companies thrived with Bain Capital's help.
The crowd of several thousand at the Tampa Bay Times Forum also waited with anticipation of a supposed "surprise guest," who turned out to be Hollywood legend and longtime Republican Clint Eastwood.
Several former Massachusetts officials who served in Romney's administration, including former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, were scheduled to take the podium.
In remarks slated for delivery later Thursday, Healey discussed much of Romney's economic plan while governor of Massachusetts. But she also warmly described her former boss in another attempt to positively define the new candidate.
"Mitt is a good and honorable man, committed to public service and his country," she said.
"On the morning he took the oath of office, his first act was to focus public attention on those in need. We served breakfast to homeless veterans, encouraging volunteerism and acknowledging the special debt we owe to those who sacrifice for our country."
Along those same lines were remarks from Craig Romney, the candidate's son. He also appears to have been asked to humanize a Romney who some describe as patrician.
"It's easy to forget that the story of my father's success begins with the story of two immigrants - my grandfathers - who came to this country with little more than hope in the opportunity of America," he said. "Through their hard work and perseverance they lived the American dream and gave opportunities to their children they wouldn't have had anywhere else."
Others highlighting his private sector background were Olympians such as 1980 champion hockey goalie Mike Eruzione, who planned to highlight Romney's experience as president of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002.
Stars of the Republican Party were also slated to deliver remarks Thursday, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (joined by his wife, Callista), a bitter rival for the GOP presidential nod just a few months ago.
In addition, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush - who remains an extemely popular political figure in a key swing state - delivered a highly anticipated speech on education.
After the traditional acknowledgement to the crowd by the nominees and their wives amid a cascade of balloons and confetti, the convention is set to end followed by a day of local campaigning in Florida today.
