Video: Opening remarks from Reince Priebus

The RNC chair has been doing an excellent job thus far, both in terms of keeping things moving along smoothly at the convention and bringing together the attendees with some excellent displays of public speaking. Beyond that I don’t have much to add, other than the that fact that this brief speech is a great example and worth your time to give it a look. The transcript follows the video. These remarks were delivered shortly after the afternoon session began on Aug. 28th.

Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Republicans, it is my distinct honor to welcome you to the 2012 Republican National Convention.

Here we will nominate Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to be the next President and Vice President of the United States of America!

But first I would like to offer our thoughts and prayers for the safety of all those in the pathway of the hurricane.

On behalf of our party, let me extend our sincere gratitude to the people of Tampa. We’re just thrilled to be here—and humbled by your hospitality.

Thanks to the tireless work of our convention staff and volunteers, this will be an inspiring three days—a convention truly worthy of the next President of the United States.

From this stage, we’ll hear from some of our party’s most inspiring leaders. With us and with the entire country, they will share their stories and our vision for a better future.

We have a message for America: Elect Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, and they will get this country working again. We will restore the idea that every person in America can live the American Dream. We embrace success, and we want everyone to be successful.

As we gather here, the nation we love is a country in turmoil. Twenty-three million of our fellow Americans are struggling for work. Families are hurting. Wages are shrinking. The debt is rising. And just to make sure no one forgets that, we’ve installed two big debt clocks to remind America of Obama’s fiscal recklessness.

We’ve seen what Obama and Biden offer. It looks nothing like hope or change. Give them another term, and we’ll just get four more years of failure.

But with Mitt Romney’s experience and Paul Ryan’s expertise, we can expect great things from a Romney-Ryan administration.

We must send America’s comeback team to Washington, so the middle class can thrive—and wages can rise—and our children can succeed once again.

Republicans believe American greatness comes from the American people—not from the federal government.

But Barack Obama thinks the government is at the center of the economic universe. He thinks that if you started a business, “You didn’t build that.”

Well, how would he know? President Obama’s never run a company. He hasn’t even run a garage sale or seen the inside of a lemonade stand. So it’s time for a President with real experience in the real economy.

Mitt Romney will be that President.

Barack Obama and his party may be satisfied with attacking the American Dream.

But Republicans won’t be satisfied until we’ve rebuilt the American Dream.

We will fight for a future where government spends tax dollars wisely. Where every American has the education needed to succeed. Where energy is affordable because America is energy independent, and where the middle class is growing because incomes are rising.

We invite all Americans who believe our children deserve this better future to join with us. A victory for the Romney-Ryan ticket is not merely a Republican victory. It is a victory for America.

So welcome to Tampa, to our convention, and to the beginning of a better future.

Thank you and God Bless you. Let’s have a great week.

• Chris Matthews: Ugh, Morning Joe is so “open to all people’s points of view”
• Libya defense minister quits as “militias” blockade gov’t offices
• WaPo fact checker: Who rewrote the Benghazi talking points?

Blowback