Weirdly, back to back speeches: “I… Love… You… Women!” It sounds like Oprah Romney is trying to obscure that infamous quote of hers, when she said not long ago: “I love the fact that there are women out there who don’t have a choice and they must go to work and they still have to raise the kids. Thank goodness that we value those people too.”  And it sounds like Chris Christie was telling the orphans they’ve had enough free porridge — start hustling, ya little bastards.

…

Also, since Ann loves women now, is Ann (and her robo-husband) suddenly in favor of equal pay for women? Do they understand the importance of Planned Parenthood for poor women? Do they care what the passage of the ACA means for millions of moms? Or does Mitt still want to take away these things from America’s wonderful women? Eh.

Kevin Drum says,

According to Ann Romney, it’s all about love and all about our nation’s great women. According to Christie, love has paralyzed us and, anyway, it’s only for the womenfolk. Is it any wonder that Ann Romney looked distinctly frosty throughout Christie’s speech?

On a more substantive note, did anyone else notice that even Ann Romney was almost entirely unable to humanize Mitt? She talked about the things he had done, but hardly at all about the kind of person he is. There was a brief reference to Mitt being “warm and loving and patient” — and helpful to friends in trouble — but after that it was all about Mitt being hardworking and successful. In other words, pretty much the corporate drone we all think he is. I doubt very much that this really helped the Republican cause with women much.

Soonergrunt: Is it just me, or does anyone else here watch Ann Romney and think that maybe Mitt’s the expressive one?

Political Wire clarifies the Republican double-speak from last night:

“I want to talk to you tonight about that one great thing that unites us, that one thing that brings us our greatest joy when times are good, and the deepest solace in our dark hours. Tonight I want to talk to you about love.” – Ann Romney, at the GOP convention last night.

“I believe we have become paralyzed by our desire to be loved.” – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, giving the keynote address last night.

David Corn: (Newsflash: Ann Romney Endorses Husband!)… This was her big finish: I said tonight I wanted to talk to you about love. Look into your hearts. This is our country. This is our future. These are our children and grandchildren. You can trust Mitt. He loves America. He will take us to a better place, just as he took me home safely from that dance. Ann Romney was comparing the entire nation to a high school girl being escorted home from a dance. That was her pitch: I love him, you should, too. Don’t worry your pretty little heads about the details.

[...] If the theme of Christie’s speech was “respect,” what the governor had in mind appeared to be respect for his own political stylings. Romney was mostly an after-thought. In fact, Romney was the moon to the two suns of the night. Ann Romney told America’s women that all they need to know is that because she, a woman, loves Mitt, they can trust him. Christie’s main point was similarly self-centric: Because he’s a tough SOB who commands respect he can vouch for this other guy.

DailyKos: Romney reacts to Christie’s speech: