Ann Romney needles convention planners, promises "heartfelt" speech
(CBS News) TAMPA, Fla. - A spirited Ann Romney arrived in Tampa late Tuesday morning, expressing excitement at her opportunity to introduce her husband to millions of Americans - and humorous surprise at adviser Stuart Stevens and other planners over their strong interest over what she'll wear for her convention speech.
"Frankly, I didn't realize that Stuart had to weigh in on this - or my husband," she told reporters on a charter flight from Bedford, Mass., to Tampa. "It was going to be like my wedding night; I wasn't going to let him know what I was going to wear. But now they have opinions."
Offering a glimpse at the message she hopes to portray in her speech, Ann Romney said it will be "heartfelt." She said she hopes voters will consider "how important this election's going to be, and how important it's going to be for them to consider the right things to make their right decisions."
She frequently introduces her husband on the campaign trail. But tonight she will use a teleprompter to deliver her remarks, something she acknowledged not being entirely comfortable with.
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"This is a unique experience for me, to actually have something written because I've never used it," she told reporters. "No one has ever written a speech for me, no one has ever, I've never given anything off a sheet ... so I had a lot of input in this, I must say. And a lot of tweaking where I felt like I was getting what I really wanted to say from my heart."
The presumed Republican nominee and his wife both spent the past two days practicing their speeches at a New Hampshire prep school. Ann Romney joked that she had practiced her speech enough recently that it had been "reduced to a tweet," and so decided to take time to do something she loves - baking.
"These are my grandmother's recipe, Welsh cakes," she explained as she passed a red tin of the round pastries among the press corps. "The funniest thing is my one grandmother was a great cook, the Welsh grandmother was a terrible cook, and I never liked her Welsh cakes growing up and I've learned how to make them in such a way that they're much more moist and delicious."