Time for Mitt Romeny to bare his inner self

The stage at the Republican convention in Tampa, Florida, is now set - all $2.5 million of it, crafted by some of the television industry's most sophisticated designers to accomplish one, overriding end: convincing the American public that Mitt Romney can be the next President of the United States.

On Thursday night, the former boss of Bain Capital will climb the stairs to a podium that aides say has been designed to appear as if "looking into someone's living room" and, as he does so, an estimated 39 million Americans will peer back from their own living rooms, curious to see if Romney will blink.

It is a moment that will crystallise a lifetime of political ambition that began back in the early 1960s with Romney going out on the stump with his late father, George, the three-term governor of Michigan whose memorabilia still festoons Romney Jnr's campaign bus.

But it is a curious testament to Romney's shortcomings as a politician - flaws that were on display during his visit to the London Olympics - that nearly 20 years after he first stood for elected office, doubts still linger over Romney's ability to succeed on the grandest stage. The challenge for Romney and his team of image-makers is that this is not a simple pass-or-fail assignment. Success cannot be guaranteed by a well-written, well-delivered speech or a carefully-crafted policy platform. It will be measured in intangibles.

Jeffrey Lord, a former aide to Ronald Reagan who attended his first convention as a 17-year-old page in 1968 when Richard Nixon won the nomination, says Romney must hurdle an invisible barrier that still separates him from the office he craves.

"That's the thing with electing somebody who is not already president to the presidency. There's this sort of invisible threshold that people look at," he said.

"They look at this person and say, 'Can I see him sitting behind the desk? Can I see him in my living room every day?' And if that person does not meet that threshold then there is almost nothing you can do."

It is one of the continuing conundrums of Romney's political personality that a man who on the face of it seems to have been produced by central casting for the job of president - wide smile, square jaw, perfect hair - still seems not quite to fit the bill.

Perhaps it is because he has appeared to covet the role too much, shifting policy positions, veering hard Right during his campaign on immigration and abortion; or perhaps, as his aides contend, it is because Romney has never dared share his inner self with the outside world. That will be part of the plan behind next week's intimate stage sets and carefully choreographed videos: to show off Romney as his supporters say "he truly is" - successful businessman, devoted charity-giver and loving family man.

They will also try to cement the notion that this is Romney's time. For much of the past decade he has been a national figure, a man who built a great company by rescuing many more, who fixed the Winter Olympic Games and then successfully governed Massachusetts.

And as for the Republican party, Romney has served his presidential race apprenticeship, loyally pulling out of the 2008 race early to support John McCain, emerging as the long-term favourite for the nomination.

With the US economy sliding back into the doldrums, polls showing Romney narrowing the gap in key swing states and with a conservative running mate in Paul Ryan, there is no doubt that he can win.

But still, he must first cross that threshold. Many people, including Rupert Murdoch, the press baron with an instinct for the popular mind, are waiting to be convinced.

"Romney must hit ball out of park next week. Great manager proven, now we must hear great vision for future. Must inspire," Murdoch said this week.

No pressure then, Romney, no pressure.