Kentuckians in the room say Romney did what he needed to do in convention speech

TAMPA — It was Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s big moment, and at least inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum, the Kentucky delegates said Romney did what he needed to do.

State Rep. Addia Wuchner of Florence — an alternate delegate — said Romney showed a more personal side in the speech, particularly when his voice cracked talking about his parents.

Wuchner said the speech built on themes throughout the week of convention activities.

Republican U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie of Bowling Green said after the speech that Romney effectively made the case why President Barack Obama needs to be fired by voters. Guthrie said he remembered the feelings of harmony at Obama’s inauguration in 2008, but those feelings quickly soured for him.

“I thought maybe this is a chance for us to change the tone in Washington D.C., and the president immediately went the other way,” Guthrie said of Obama’s inauguration.

Dailey Wilson, a delegate from Eddyville, said the build up to Romney with his wife, Ann, on Tuesday, followed by meeting two of Romney’s fives sons helped her relate to him more.

Wilson said she didn’t know until the testimonial speeches Thursday that Romney turned down his salary while serving as Massachusetts governor. Overall, the excitement for Romney and running mate Paul Ryan was greater than that for Sen. John McCain of Arizona — but maybe not quite to the Sarah Palin level, she said.