>>
moves towards the
gulf coast
, organizers at the
republican national convention
are watching the storm carefully. if the schedule has to change again, they'll take that under consideration. in the meantime
mitt romney
spent the day off the campaign trail as he prepares to give the speech of a lifetime. we get more on all of that now from nbc's
peter alexander
.
>> reporter:
facing what's undoubtedly the most important week of his political career,
mitt romney
paused briefly today to attend
church services
aalongside his wife, ann, who just got
secret service
protection as is normal for the wife of a nominee. inviting fox news inside their private summer compound for an interview that aired this morning.
>>
it's a little early. i'm going to do it anyway.
>> reporter:
the rom knees tried to highlight the former business executive's warmth as a family man.
>>
i see how compassionate he is with me as a wife sxrazing these small children and how he always valued my work being more important than him.
>> reporter:
analysts say it's a strategic effort to improve his likability gap, with recent polls saying the president cares more about average people.
jeb bush
on "meet the press."
>>
governor
romney
has a chance at this convention and going forward to reconnect with the people, to set the stage for the
general election
and show who he is, what's in his heart.
>> reporter:
this weekend in an interview with the associated press, the president warned voters to beware of what he calls
romney
's extreme positions.
>>
whether he believes in those or not, i have no doubt that he would carry forward some of the things that he's talked about.
>> reporter:
the
2008
gop
presidential nominee
,
john mccain
, says republicans must hammer
president obama
for the nation's still struggling economy.
>>
we have to give that message, and we have to repeat that message
over and over
again.
>> reporter:
romney
spent his afternoon preparing his acceptance speech which aides say he'll out lined has he's qualified to turn around the
american economy
.
>>>
we want to turn now to our nbc news political
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