Ann Romney on the Boy She Met at High School Dance: 'This Man Will Not Fail

Ann Romney shared stories about the boy she met at a high school dance, the boy who was tall and laughed a lot and was nice to her parents.

She talked about the man who, if given the opportunity, would "move heaven and earth" to make the country a better place to live, and would "wake up every day with the determination to solve the problems that others say can't be solved."

Ann Romney, in her national debut at the Republican National Convention Tuesday night, talked about love.

"Tonight I want to talk to you from my heart," she said. "I want to talk to you tonight about the one great thing that unites us…tonight I want to talk to you about love."

"I want to talk to you about the deep and abiding love I have for a man I met at a dance many years ago, and the profound love I have and I know we share for this country," she said.

Ann Romney is widely considered one of her husband's strongest and most effective surrogates on the campaign trail. She's been outspoken about raising five sons and about her struggles with multiple sclerosis and breast cancer. Wearing a bright red dress, she took the stage to massive welcoming applause.

"I read somewhere that Mitt and I have a storybook marriage," Romney said. "Well, in the storybooks I read, there were never long, long, rainy winter afternoons in a house with five boys screaming at once. And those storybooks never seemed to have chapters called MS or breast cancer. A storybook marriage? No, not at all. What Mitt Romney and I have is a real marriage."

Speaking about her own background, Romney said she's the granddaughter of a Welsh coal miner who dreamed of something better for his children. Her father came to America when he was 15 years old and started a business in Michigan. He eventually became the mayor of their town, and instilled in Ann and her siblings the same values George Romney was teaching his own children.

"Let me say this to every American who is thinking about who should be our next president," Romney said. "No one will work harder. No one will care more."

Aiming a shot at those who have attacked her husband's business record, Romney said, "Let's be honest, if the last four years had been more successful, do we really think there would be this attack on Mitt Romney's success?"

"Mitt will be the first to tell you that he is the most fortunate man in the world," Romney said. "He had two loving parents who gave him strong values and taught him the value of work. He had the chance to get the education his father never had. But as his partner on this amazing journey, I can tell you Mitt Romney was not handed success. He built it."

"This man will not fail... You can trust Mitt," she added.

The Romney campaign has certainly taken notice of Ann Romney's ability to connect with voters on a different level than her husband. Originally scheduled to speak on the opening night of the convention Monday, her speech was shifted to Tuesday after it became clear the major TV networks would not cover the first night's events for a primetime audience, before the postponement due to tropical storm Isaac.

TheBlaze's S.E. Cupp said Ann Romney's role was clear: to show that Romney, despite some criticism, can connect well with people.

"Romney needs Ann to be his rhetorical heart, the same function Michelle Obama performed for Barack in 2008. She needs to speak as a wife and a mother, not to connect with women, but to connect others to Mitt," she said.

Ahead of her speech, Romney told reporters her remarks would be "heartfelt." Inside the convention Tuesday afternoon, anticipation was high for what she would say.

"I hope she really gives an emotional, a super-emotional talk about how wonderful her husband is," Betsy Emanuel, a Romney supporter and alternate delegate from California told TheBlaze. "They have such a great love story and I think she needs to expound on that."

Tricia Richards, a Washington state delegate and Romney supporter who also backed him during his 2008 bid, said Ann provides a positive counterbalance to Romney's business heft.

"Not only is she charismatic…she's been just a great support to him and he has been to her," Richards said. "She brings a bit of softness to him. He's been in business all his life and she brings that other side."

Watch Ann Romney's entire RNC address from TheBlazeTV below: