{"id":5078,"date":"2012-01-11T16:28:46","date_gmt":"2012-01-11T21:28:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/?p=5078"},"modified":"2012-01-12T17:01:19","modified_gmt":"2012-01-12T22:01:19","slug":"romney-and-the-economy-two-ways-to-read-his-nh-victory-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/01\/11\/romney-and-the-economy-two-ways-to-read-his-nh-victory-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"Romney And The Economy: Two Ways To Read His NH Victory Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Looking strictly at word count, Romney's NH victory speech definitely wasn't heavy on "jobs" and the "economy."<\/p><\/div>\n

A number of media outlets (including the Boston Globe) <\/em>noted that Mitt Romney’s victory speech after the New Hampshire primary felt more like a general election speech than a nomination contest speech<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But we’re less interested in the flavor of Romney’s speech than we are in the text and the overarching themes.\u00a0 As we’ve noted in previous posts<\/a>, the number one issue for more than 60 percent of New Hampshire voters is jobs and the economy.<\/p>\n

So how did Romney respond to those concerns during his victory speech?<\/p>\n

If you look strictly at word count (visualized in our word cloud above), the answer is “No.”\u00a0 But when you dissect the full speech transcript based on themes, you do get a different result<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Although he didn’t often directly say “the economy” and “jobs,” Romney did take up significant chunks of time discussing economic themes.\u00a0 We’ve pulled the pertinent transcript quotes below for your perusal.*<\/p>\n

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Win McNamee \/ Getty Images<\/p>

Rather than mention the economy and jobs directly, Romney's speech dealt with them in broad themes<\/p><\/div>\n

“The middle class has been crushed. Nearly 24 million of our fellow Americans are still out of work, struggling to find work, or have just stopped looking.\u00a0 The median income has dropped 10% in four years.\u00a0 Soldiers returning from the front lines are waiting in unemployment lines.\u00a0 Our debt is too high and our opportunities too few.<\/p>\n

And this President wakes up every morning, looks out across America and is proud to announce, ‘It could be worse.’<\/p>\n

It could be worse? Is that what it means to be an American? It could be worse?\u00a0 Of course not.<\/p>\n

What defines us as Americans is our unwavering conviction that we know it must be better. That conviction guides our campaign.\u00a0 It has rallied millions of Americans in every corner of this country to our cause.<\/p>\n

Over the last six months, I\u2019ve listened to anxious voices in town meetings and visited with students and soldiers.\u00a0 In break rooms and living rooms, I\u2019ve heard stories of families getting by on less, of carefully planned retirements now replaced by jobs at minimum wage.\u00a0 But even now, amidst the worst economy since the Great Depression, I\u2019ve rarely heard a refrain of hopelessness.<\/p>\n

Americans know that our future is brighter and better than these troubled times.\u00a0 We still believe in the hope, the promise, and the dream of America.\u00a0 We still believe in that shining city on a hill.<\/p>\n

We know that the future of this country is better than 8 or 9% unemployment.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Romney later defended his time at Bain Capital (and obliquely alluded to his economic plan<\/a>?)\u00a0by tying the economy to free enterprise:<\/p>\n

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