TAMPA, Fla. — Mother Nature may be calming down in Tampa, but excitement in the crowd gathered at the Republican National Convention is building. Blackfoot resident Mike Duff is in the eye of the political storm and said he's enjoying it.

    “It's been just great tonight,” Duff said via cell phone as he left the convention center.

    The veteran of Republican presidential conventions in 1988 and 1992, Duff said the organization of this week's Tampa event has been amazing concerning Hurricane Isaac forced the cancellation of Monday's activities.

    “The Romney team has been impressive,” Duff said. “This thing has gone as smooth as any convention could.”

    The highlight for attendees Tuesday was a speech by Ann Romney, wife of the Republican presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney. Duff said he was impressed.

    “She is the quintessential American woman,” Duff said. “She has character, intelligence and made a statement to her character when she talked about her partnership with Mitt.”

    In her speech at the GOP national convention in Tampa,   Ann Romney spoke of a marriage that was not exactly a storybook romance, according to the Associated Press.

    “Well, in the storybooks I read, there were never long, long, rainy winter afternoons in a house with five boys screaming at once,” she said in her speech. “And those storybooks never seemed to have chapters called MS or breast cancer,” she said, alluding to her own struggles with both illnesses.

    “When she shared her husband's determination to serve his family and the people, it was really quite touching,” Duff said.

    But it was the speech given by Mia Love, mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, who is running for Congress in Utah as the first black female to seek federal office in that state. Love's short speech trumpeted the themes of her parents emigrating to this country to pursue a dream based on personal effort and not government help. Love's parents migrated from Haiti in the 1970s.

    Love's campaign calls for limited government, fiscal discipline, personal responsibility and state's rights.

    “She's the future of the party,” Duff said.”Hers was an exciting story to hear.”

    The Blackfoot resident said he was headed back to his hotel room in nearby St. Petersburg with his family, but he suspects many of the Republican convention attendees will be up all night celebrating the moment.

    Duff said there is a aura of concern hanging over the convention because of the severe storm pounding the coast of nearby Louisiana, but Tampa was spared the brunt of nature's fury.

    “There was a driving rain during the night,” he said about Monday. “But we woke up to a slight overcast with high humidity today.”

    For more coverage of the GOP convention, go to idahostatejournal.com.