Supporters, adversaries take in Romney GOP Convention speech

TAMPA (CNN) -- GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney officially accepted the GOP nomination for president, and addressed the crowd at the GOP Convention in Tampa Thursday night, August 30th. Romney advisers said their biggest goal was to improve his likability and make the case that he understands how Americans are struggling and that he empathizes with the middle class.

His highly anticipated speech followed blockbusters from former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and running mate Rep. Paul Ryan. The latter energized the convention and set a high bar for Romney with a point-by-point critique of President Barack Obama's presidency and what Republicans have tried to characterize as a failed administration.

Ryan's speech set the stage for Romney's address, which was intended to provide Americans just tuning in to the election with an introduction to the candidate and how he would move the country's stagnant economy forward.

Romney's wife, Ann, spoke on the convention's first night and tried to tell Americans about her husband in human terms.

Watch parties were scheduled Thursday night across the state. Wisconsinites gathered at 22 parties to watch Romney speak and officially accept the Republican Party's nomination for president.

"On Thursday evening as Mitt Romney accepts the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, low-wage workers, seniors, community activists, and constituents of Romney’s running mate, Paul Ryan, will roundly reject what they term the “Romney Economy” outside the GOP’s watch party in Wauwatosa.  Voters will gather to speak out against Romney’s policies that are dangerous to the 99% such as outsourcing jobs for profit, tax breaks for the rich coupled with tax hikes for the middle class, and cuts to education and healthcare funding.

The event is part of a nationwide day of action as voters demand an economy and a government that works for the 99%.  These voters want:  an increase in the federal minimum wage, an end to tax breaks for the rich and corporations, a renewed focus on creating good American jobs, and a Congress committed to representing all Americans, not just the 1%."