Creve Coeur Couple In Tampa For The Republican National Convention

There’s a well-worn phrase in the world of politics that goes something like this:

“If you’re explaining, you’re not winning”

 The mantra has been credited to Ronald Reagan and GOP strategist Lee Atwater over the years.

 Creve Coeur resident Al Rotskoff used it last week in an interview with Patch before he and his wife Cheri, an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention, left for Florida on Friday.

The Official Republican National Convention Website

The convention, Al said, will be a chance for the GOP to get back on the offense after what has been a largely defensive week. Members of the party all the way up the ballot have been forced off message in the wake of U.S. . Mitt Romney, preparing for what may to date be the most important week of his political life, was part of the chorus calling for

Of the Akin comments, Roskoff, who voted as a member of the Electoral College in 2000, said he felt “shock and disdain that someone would say something so uninformed,” and described Akin as “the poster boy for the fictional war on women.” But with Akin staying away from Tampa, Roskoff hoped the party will be able to turn the focus back on the economy. 

“The current administration does not understand how jobs are created. They’re just plain wrong,” he said.

The Rotskoffs have attended political conventions spanning the last 40 years, including GOP confabs in Kansas City (1976), New York City and Minneapolis (2008).

Al didn’t identify a specific thing they were looking forward to this time around, besides dodging raindrops and hassles posed by a potential Hurricane Isaac. The impending weather has alread forced schedule changes at the convention. Monday's functions have already been largely curtailed. Pardon the pun but the week's schedule could best be considered fluid.

Patch hopes to bring you the Rotskoff's impressions while they're on the ground in Florida this week, including a photo or two along the way.