I had never heard her speak before. Everyone says she’s an exceptionally good speaker. Everyone’s right.

‐Beautiful woman. “Gracious,” we would say in Michigan (and elsewhere, I’m sure). Very feminine voice. Easy, natural laugh (though a slightly odd one). A musical laugh, actually.

‐I know a guy — a Michigan-born writer, of some fame — who was in love with Ann. Then along came Mitt.

‐“When Mitt and I met and fell in love, we were determined not to let anything stand in the way of our life together. I was an Episcopalian. He was a Mormon.”

Good. Not shying away from the Mormon bit.

‐“I am the granddaughter of a Welsh coal miner.” You know who’s the grandson of a Welsh coal miner (who raised him, largely)? Our Dusty Rhodes. Leader of banking and finance. Leader of National Review. Leader of conservatism.

‐“Love of one’s fellow man.” How wonderful. Thank you, Ann. Would her phrasing be allowed at the Democratic convention? I’m reading the new book of Mark Mazower, the famous historian. He writes, e.g., “him- or herself.” And so the uglification of our language continues . . .

‐When you say, “This is important. I want you to hear this,” you’d better have something good to say. Mrs. R. did. She said, “Mitt doesn’t like to talk about how he has helped others because he sees it as a privilege, not a political talking point.”

‐She quoted the Bible, freely. Unblushingly. Excellent.

‐She explained the American Way. She knows what Barack Obama and the Obamites seem not to know: “. . . because this is America, that small company which grew has helped so many others lead better lives. The jobs that grew from the risks they took have become college educations, first homes. That success has helped fund scholarships, pensions, and retirement funds. This is the genius of America: Dreams fulfilled help others launch new dreams.”

‐“This is the man who will wake up every day with the determination to solve the problems that others say can’t be solved, to fix what others say is beyond repair. This is the man who will work harder than anyone so that we can work a little less hard. . . . This man will not fail. This man will not let us down.”

I believe that. I hope he gets the chance to prove it.

‐All of these good convention speeches are ruined, or marred, by too much applause. A speaker often needs to ride over it, ride through it — using it, rather than letting it use him. You know?

‐I’ve long heard it said, “Ann is Romney’s best advocate.” I always thought this was basically a nice, Hallmarky thing to say. It may well be true.