Tee-off in Tampa

At the Republican National Convention site, the Tampa Bay Times Forum, everything is ready for the big event and its 50,000 attendees. Despite a delay due to Tropical Storm Isaac, Monday was in fact the kick-off for the convention. In the arena, there were giant screens, on which, among other things, a film tribute to the late former President Ronald Reagan will be shown.

"I think the momentum is moving toward our side," Jacob Ventura, a delegate from Massachusetts, told me on Monday. Ventura, an African-American, said that the entire American population had been hurt economically by the Obama administration. "I don't think that the elections in November are connected to the ethnicity of voters, because everybody is struggling to put food on the table," he said.

Ventura believes that Romney will "improve the lives of Americans and also be committed to Israel, particularly during this time of Iranian nuclear danger."

The Politico website published a good analysis of what the Republicans must do this week. The question, the article said, is can Romney can get Americans to believe that he understands the difficulties of their daily lives? If he does this, he will defeat Obama.

USA Today broke down the challenges facing Romney. First, he must get Americans to like him. Second, he needs to be successful in making the economy the central theme of the election, because he has an advantage on this issue. Third, he has to endear himself to female voters, particularly after the recent controversial statements of Missouri Republican Todd Akin, who said that women rarely become pregnant after "legitimate rape." Fourth, he must reach out to the Hispanic community, which overwhelmingly supports Obama and is a key factor in the swing state of Florida, with its 29 electoral votes. It is hard to imagine Romney defeating Obama without winning Florida.

One thing that both political parties agree on is that the election is going to be close right up until the final moment. Republicans have been telling me that this is good for Romney.

The New York Post reported on Monday that popular New Jersey Governor Chris Christie turned down an offer to be Romney's vice presidential candidate because he did not believe Romney would beat Obama and did not want to lose his job as governor. On Tuesday, Christie will deliver the keynote address at the convention.

"He is going to be our candidate in 2020," a delegate from Tulsa, Oklahoma said to me about Christie.

"Why in 2020-" I asked.

"Because until then, we will have Romney," he replied.