Barack Obama’s reaction to the closing night on the Republican National Convention was a tweet at 12:23 am that said This seat’s taken and included a photo of the president sitting with his back to the camera apparently at a meeting in the White House.
The media is spinning the president’s tweet as a shot back at Clint Eastwood for his skit using an empty chair for his imaginary conversation with Obama.
I didn’t take it that way. I read it as an arrogant and off handed dismissal of Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech and the case Romney made for his candidacy.
Either way the president’s tweet is offensive and beneath the dignity of the office.
You don’t know who Mitt Romney is. Tonight you can find out. If you have not been watching the Republican National Convention, you want to tonight.
The RNC has been sending the prepared remarks of all the speakers to MMM. They are embargoed until delivery so I can’t publish them yet, but I can tell you that tonight’s speakers are special. They’ve seen a side a Mitt Romney you want to know.
The rap on Romney is that he is stiff. A heartless executive. That he is awkward and reserved in revealing himself. That he doesn’t connect with people.
I’m a political junkie. I don’t recall any politician revealing themselves the way Mitt Romney will be revealed tonight, through the voices of people he’s connected with.
You will hear from people that Romney was a ministier to while pastor of his church. You’ll hear from his assistant pastor. You’ll hear from his career “wing-man.” You’ll hear from the founder of Staples. You’ll hear from an employee of a company that Mitt Romney turned around. You’ll hear from the woman who recruited Romney to run for governor of Massachusetts. You’ll meet the liberal Democrat who was his Secretary of Workforce Development.
Sister Elizabeth Garvey, the Executive Director of the Bayshore Senior Center in Keansburg passed away on Monday. She was 82 years old.
Sr. Elizabeth was a graduate of Red Catholic High School and Georgian Court University where she earned an MA in Education. She entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1950. Following a 28 year ministry in education she devoted the last 31 years to serving the senior citizens of Monmouth County’s bayshore.
Her love, compassion and commitment had a profound and positive impact on the lives she touched. Sr. Elizabeth inspired love, compassion and commitment in others.
Victor Scudiery, Chairman of the Senior Center’s Board, struggled for words to describe his loss. “She was a good friends and I loved her dearly. We worked together through some very tough times.”
John McCarthy, a Hazlet business owner who also serves on the board said Sr. Elizabeth was ” a beautiful beautiful person with a spine of steel. She never gave up. When she walked into a room she commanded the presence of everyone there.”
Senator Joe Kyrillos said, “Susan and I loved and respected Sister Garvey and will miss her very much. She touched many loves in our community and was a speical person, a force for good. May God bless her.”
Visitation is until 7PM this evening at St. Ann Church in Keansburg. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow the visitation.
This stage and this moment are very improbable for me.
A New Jersey Republican delivering the keynote address to our national convention, from a state with 700,000 more Democrats than Republicans.
A New Jersey Republican stands before you tonight.
Proud of my party, proud of my state and proud of my country.
I am the son of an Irish father and a Sicilian mother.
My Dad, who I am blessed to have with me here tonight, is gregarious, outgoing and loveable.
My Mom, who I lost 8 years ago, was the enforcer. She made sure we all knew who set the rules.
In the automobile of life, Dad was just a passenger. Mom was the driver.
They both lived hard lives. Dad grew up in poverty. After returning from Army service, he worked at the Breyers Ice Cream plant in the 1950s. With that job and the G.I. bill he put himself through Rutgers University at night to become the first in his family to earn a college degree. Our first family picture was on his graduation day, with Mom beaming next to him, six months pregnant with me.
Mom also came from nothing. She was raised by a single mother who took three buses to get to work every day. And mom spent the time she was supposed to be a kid actually raising children – her two younger siblings. She was tough as nails and didn’t suffer fools at all. The truth was she couldn’t afford to. She spoke the truth – bluntly, directly and without much varnish.
I am her son.
I was her son as I listened to “Darkness on the Edge of Town” with my high school friends on the Jersey Shore.
I was her son as I moved into a studio apartment with Mary Pat to start a marriage that is now 26 years old.
I was her son as I coached our sons Andrew and Patrick on the fields of Mendham, and as I watched with pride as our daughters Sarah and Bridget marched with their soccer teams in the Labor Day parade.
And I am still her son today, as Governor, following the rules she taught me: to speak from the heart and to fight for your principles. She never thought you get extra credit for just speaking the truth.
The greatest lesson Mom ever taught me, though, was this one: she told me there would be times in your life when you have to choose between being loved and being respected. She said to always pick being respected, that love without respect was always fleeting — but that respect could grow into real, lasting love.
Now, of course, she was talking about women.
But I have learned over time that it applies just as much to leadership. In fact, I think that advice applies to America today more than ever.
I believe we have become paralyzed by our desire to be loved.
Barack Obama’s reaction to the closing night on the Republican National Convention was a tweet at 12:23 am that said This seat’s taken and included a photo of the president sitting with his back to the camera apparently at a meeting in the White House.