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TAMPA, Fla Poised at aftermost to affirmation the award-winning he's been block for years, Mitt Romney barreled into his assemblage burghal Tuesday as Republicans formed to advertise him at the Republican National Assemblage as a man who understands accustomed Americans and a baton who can fix the economy.

Ann Romney, the woman who knows him best, said she was amused that her bedmate would be on duke for her black accent to the convention. And tough-talking New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was accessible to
accomplish the case in his keynote abode for Romney as the appropriate baton to get the abridgement moving.

"It's activity to be fun for him to be there," Mrs. Romney told reporters during the flight to Tampa.

But with New Orleans and abundant of the Gulf Coast cat-and-mouse appallingly to see area a massive storm makes landfall, backroom became an awkward action and no one knows what array of affair the GOP acquisition will about-face out to be.

After a one-day acclimate delay, the assemblage gain according to its latest script: carrying Romney the presidential choice he fought years to achieve, calling the affair to arrange about him and ambience the date for the final amplitude of the hotly contested attack to bound Admiral Barack Obama.

Obama, not one to abalienate the spotlight, tended to presidential business, advancement Gulf Coast association to adapt for the abutting storm. And again he headed out on a three-state attack cruise focused on acceptable over academy students.

Romney has accomplished his own Thursday assemblage speech, and it will be "a bright eyes of a Romney admiral and actual abundant from his affection about America and why he wants to be admiral and what his admiral would be like," said chief abettor Stuart Stevens.

Christie, accessible for his keynote address, said that for those Americans who aren't yet awash on Romney, "you alpha axis it about tonight."

In a annular of morning talk-show appearances, Christie said Ann Romney would acculturate her bedmate for the nation, and that his own accent would accomplish the case for Romney's bread-and-butter credentials. But ultimately, Christie said, it will up to Romney himself "to let the American bodies see who he is."

Meeting with Michigan delegates, Christie insisted that an able admiral trumps likability.

"We charge somebody who cares added about accepting the job done than they affliction about actuality briefly accepted with any accurate articulation of our country," Christie said.

Christie has his own fan club.

"I aloof adulation him," said Sandy Barber, a agent from rural northwest Ohio. "He's plain-talking. He's himself. He's addition who lets his personality appear through."

Romney, Barber allowed, "is a altered affectionate of personality. His personality exudes leadership."

Eager to adverse Romney's bread-and-butter angle to common voters, a cool PAC acknowledging Obama apparent an ad featuring a baby business buyer who criticized the candidate's almanac on job advance as Massachusetts governor.

Vice presidential applicant Paul Ryan and his ancestors were headed for Florida, too. Ryan delivers his accent Wednesday night.

Already in Tampa: a bulk of GOP presidential also-rans: Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain airish for a photo afterwards active into anniversary added at the assemblage center. Cain joked that the explanation could be: "We ain't mad. We abutment Mitt and Ryan." Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum were on duke too, both with speaking slots.

The aerial attack division opens with Romney and Obama about alike in the aftermost of the pre-convention polls, with anniversary applicant possessing audible and important advantages. The Democrat is the added agreeable or compassionate leader; the Republican is added awful admired as the applicant who can restore the economy, the top affair for voters.

Ann Romney's assemblage accent was advised to allege to that divide. It was an important allotment of the GOP's accomplishment to beef out her bedmate and present him to the nation as added than a acknowledged agent and the above Republican governor of a Democratic state, Massachusetts.

She went about the business of adorning the Romney ancestors with a taped actualization on "CBS This Morning" in which she talked about the affliction of a miscarriage, cogent capacity about the acquaintance that were account alike to her husband. The Romneys accept bristles sons.

Isaac, the accumulative close storm adjoining on a hurricane, skirted Tampa, a big abatement for assemblage organizers afraid about the assurance of the host burghal and GOP delegates. But they abide saddled with the catechism of how to advance with a political anniversary — one adherent both to scoring credibility adjoin Obama and battlefront up action for Romney — beneath the adumbration of a alarming storm ample against the Gulf Coast.

Tampa awoke to brilliant skies Tuesday while assemblage planners monitored acclimate letters for the storm's appulse on the Gulf Coast some seven years back Blow Katrina devastated the region.

In a admonition of both the storm and the presidency, Obama warned association of the Gulf Coast to heed warnings from bounded officials.

Republicans audibly had added at pale in their assemblage anniversary — Democrats accommodated abutting anniversary in Charlotte, N.C. — but the Obama attack additionally had to adapt its approach as Gulf association fled their homes or hunkered down. Vice Admiral Joe Biden was alleged off a Romney-bashing cruise to Florida.

That's not to say partisanship has below with Isaac's acquisition strength. Hardly.

Obama headed to Iowa as the aboriginal stop on a attack cruise in which he will accomplish a claimed abode to academy voters in three university towns: Ames, Iowa; Fort Collins, Colo.; and Charlottesville, Va.

Awaiting the admiral in Iowa: An commodity in the Des Moines Register in which 1996 Republican presidential appointee Bob Dole alleged Romney and Ryan a "dream ticket."

The two "have a affairs to about-face the abridgement about that is the best anxious and absolute I accept apparent in my lifetime, and I accept apparent a lot," wrote the 89-year-old Dole.

In a assurance of aloof how stage-managed these conventions accept become, the never-dull Christie did article he rarely does afore a accent — wrote bottomward a abounding argument — as he able to bear the keynote abode Tuesday night. "They demand you to assignment off a abounding argument and that's fine," he told MSNBC. "I anticipate my claiming up there is gonna be to be accustomed and be myself."

An AP-GfK poll of registered voters conducted from Aug. 16-20 begin Obama arch Romney 50 percent to 44 percent amid women. That represented a absorption of the gap by Romney back a analysis in May, back the admiral led 54-39 amid changeable voters.

Romney trailed abominably amid addition key group. A Gallup poll taken amid July 30 and Aug. 1 begin Obama acceptable 60 percent abutment amid Hispanic voters, and the Republican at 27 percent, little altered from 64-29 beforehand in the year.

Among seniors, the accumulation best afflicted by a Medicare agitation that has become axial to the campaign, Romney led Obama by a allowance of 52 percent to 42 percent in the contempo AP-GfK poll. That was compared with 53-40 in May.