Obama victory speech energizes base, fails to convince skeptics

If ever there was a metaphor for the sorry state of American politics, it was the stubbornness of the crushed challenger to concede a hopelessly lost election into the wee hours and the subsequent nonchalance of the victor taking his sweet time to get to the podium, while the nation ruefully shook its tired head at the unmitigated arrogance of the political class.

When Mitt Romney finally showed up at the Boston Convention Center at 1 a.m. to deliver his last hurrah, it was characteristically gracious and uninspiring. Good soldier that he is, Romney’s swan song appearance on the national stage was appropriate, workmanlike and brief.

He touched all the necessary bases:

“I pray that the president will be successful in guiding our nation.”

“At a time like this, we can’t risk partisan bickering and political posturing. Our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people’s work. “

This was the key message Romney seized on too late in his campaign to get him over the finish line.