Ann Romney: the most important speech of the convention?

On the NewsHour Monday night David Brooks said he was looking forward to Ann Romney's speech, which is set for Tuesday in prime-time.

I'm looking forward to that speech, too.  It's not a policy speech nor an overtly political speech, but it carries with it something more important: Ann Romney's speech can help redefine the caricature that Mitt Romney has become.

As a point of comparison, watch First Lady Laura Bush's speech at the 2004 Convention.  That speech was remarkable because of how it humanized President Bush.  It was a time of war and she recalls a moment that only a wife could: "... I remember sitting in the window of the White House, watching as my husband walked on the lawn below. I knew he was wrestling with these agonizing decisions that would have such profound consequence for so many lives and for the future of our world."

Ann Romney's challenge is different and difficult.  She must convince people that Governor Romney can relate to ordinary Americans and that he understands their economic troubles.

The irony of the polls and the reality for the Romney campaign is that recent polls find that voters think that President Obama more than Governor Romney "cares about the needs and problems of people like" them, and that Obama "better understands the economic problems people in this country are having."  Other surveys, including the Ohio Poll from the University of Cincinnati, show that Romney has an advantage with voters on the economy.

Ann Romney's speech may be the most important speech for the Romney campaign.  If Romney leaves this Tampa without moving his favorability numbers higher, then his quest for the White House will not get easier.