Romney accepts prez nomination

Mitt Romney accepted the Republican nomination on Thursday with a speech reinforcing his central message that President Barack Obama has failed to fix the economy because he cannot. Yashwant Raj reports.

Mitt Romney accepted the Republican nomination on Thursday with a speech reinforcing his central message that President Barack Obama has failed to fix the economy because he cannot.

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He also used the speech to reintroduce himself to American voters, speaking with rare openness about his mormon faith.

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And about his stint at Bain Capital, the private equity fund under unrelenting attack from the Obama campaign for offshoring American jobs and shutting down businesses.

"'Hope' and 'Change' had a powerful appeal," he said. "If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn't you feel that way now that he's President Obama?"

Romney put forth his experience in the private sector to argue he is better equipped. "I learned the real lessons about how America works from experience."

He addressed the issue of his Mormon faith headlong, asking why it should set him apart when his friends didn't think much of it while growing up.

"My friends cared more about what sports teams we followed than what church we went to," he said.

Romney also used this speech to hit upon some known weaknesses in his appeal. Polls show him trailing the president in popularity among women voters.

So he talked about his mother's unsuccessful run for the senate. He said he remembers his father telling his mother: "Why should women have any less say than men in the great decisions facing our nation?"

Romney then recounted how as governor of Massachusetts he had a woman as his Lt Governor and then he mentored and supported many women who went on to run successful businesses.