Romney-Ryan at the helm of the Republican Party

The best thing that happened about Hurricane Isaac is that it did not hit places near Tampa, Florida, where the Republican convention was being held. But despite being downgraded, the slow-moving storm brought seemingly unending rain to parts of the Gulf Coast region.

Mitt Romney made his case to the nation about why this Republican contender should be elected president, and why he thinks Democratic President Barack Obama should be sent packing. The speech will set the tone for Romney’s campaign for the final two months.

Having seized the nomination on his second try to run for the presidency after years spent preparing for the moment, Romney will use his speech Thursday night to introduce himself to a large portion of voters and claw for an advantage in a race that could scarcely be any closer.

“We believe in America, even though the last four years have been full of difficulties and disappointments, doubt and despair,” Romney said when tackling the economy, this election’s top subject. “We believe in America, even though President Obama’s failed policies have left us with record-high unemployment, lower take-home pay, and the weakest economy since the Great Depression.”

Romney also discussed his Mormon faith in more direct terms than usual, a direction signaled by running mate Paul Ryan on Wednesday night in several allusions to the duo’s differing religions but “same moral creed.” Ryan, a deficit hawk who’s become the party’s darling since joining the ticket, offered a prime-time testimonial setting up Romney’s turn on the stage in the Republican National Convention’s finale.

But the convention really belonged to conservatives of all sorts, including Tea Party activists and gun owners after mass shooting at a Colorado cinema.

“It may not be a particularly pleasant place to be for a regular person, but most Americans are pretty conservative,” commented a Turkish resident of the capital Washington. “In addition, Romney has pretty good chances to grab the presidency.”

After the Republican gathering, all eyes will turn to President Obama and his running mate Joe Biden at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, between Sept. 4 and 6.

Obama and Biden could be considered as foreign policy gurus if compared to the conservative Romney-Ryan duo, but the 2012 election is mostly about the economy. Romney could be considered not “well-established” on foreign policy whereas Ryan is totally unclear about his foreign policy choices, apart from his quite close ties with the congressional pro-Armenian groups.

But Republican insiders believe Obama and Biden are “not willing to take any risks” on Syria, no matter what happens there.

On Iran, Obama and Biden will likely look to control Israeli policies, while Romney and Ryan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s obvious favorites in the Nov. 6 election, will wait until then.