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September 01, 2012 | | ORATORY Accepting his party’s nomination, Mitt Romney only half-met his moment. Robert Shrum argues that the Republican candidate could have profited from the examples of George H.W. Bush and Al Gore, stiff speakers who still triumphed at their conventions. MAKE MY DAY After all the finger-pointing about Clint Eastwood's strange scolding of an empty chair at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night, it seems there are finally some answers. After the actor endorsed Romney at a campaign event this summer, the presidential nominee invited him to speak on a bigger stage, leading to the strangest 12 minutes of the GOP’s week in Tampa. Although aides cleared the surprise appearance, no one vetted the speech, and attempts to cut the actor off before his impromptu berating of a piece of furniture were ignored. As for the chair, a senior aide could only say, "The prop person probably thought he was going to sit in it." END GAME Many affluent residents of the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo found life good under Bashar al-Assad’s regime. But the Daily Beast’s Mike Giglio reports that when the government began indiscriminately attacking rebels and residents alike, Assad’s support from Aleppo’s moneyed class began to evaporate. OBSERVER In a quick change of scenery, Mitt Romney spent the day after his acceptance of the GOP’s nomination touring Louisiana to view Hurricane Isaac’s damage. Romney met with local residents who have been affected, along with Gov. Bobby Jindal. The visit drew some ire from Democrats, who say VP pick Paul Ryan blocked disaster-relief funds just last fall. “It is the height of hypocrisy for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to make a pretense of showing sympathy for the victims of Hurricane Isaac when their policies would leave those affected by this disaster stranded and on their own,’’ said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a statement. President Obama has canceled one appearance on his reelection campaign tour in order to visit the damaged region Monday. UP & UP Amazing what a little talking can do! Federal Reserve Chaiman Ben Bernanke addressed a conferance on monetary policy on Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyo., saying that the central bank would act as necessary to strengthen America’s economic recovery, leaving the door open for future monetary easing. Soon after, both European stocks and the euro began rising as signs emerged of a deal to manage the euro-zone crisis. On the American side, the dollar dropped to an eight-week low after Bernanke characterized high unemployment as a "grave concern," reinforcing expectations of more growth-encouraging stimulus. | | 
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