Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney delivered an impassioned speech on personal freedoms…

Kenny Ong | Visual Editor

John Fitzgerald (left) from North Hills deals a game of MittJack — a twist on Blackjack that aims to simulate an economy under Mitt Romney — to Mike Dice (right) and Andrea Fox.

Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney delivered an impassioned speech on personal freedoms in the United States at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., Thursday, contrasting these founding principles with the governing philosophy of President Barack Obama.

As he accepted the Republican presidential nominee bid in front of a lively crowd, Romney blasted Obama for campaigning on symbols of unity during his 2008 presidential campaign but then dividing the electorate as president.

“I wish President Obama had succeeded, because I want America to succeed. But his promises gave way to disappointment and division,” Romney said. “This isn’t something we have to accept.”

Romney used the event as an opportunity to bridge the personal disconnect between himself and middle-class voters by citing his experience as a husband and father of five children. Preceding his speech was a video chronicling his life and business experience.

But Romney’s message of unity was lost on some voters in the Pittsburgh area.

Before Romney’s address, which began at 10 p.m., One Pittsburgh, an issue-based activist group, held a counter-rally in Schenley Plaza. Eric Shannon, the group’s press representative, said One Pittsburgh opposed Romney’s economic philosophy of cutting taxes on wealthy Americans as a method of creating jobs.

“His plan is to cut taxes for the rich under the idea that that’s going to create more jobs; if the rich have more money, they’re going to have that money to create jobs,” Shannon said. “We’ve seen that before — that’s trickle-down economics — and it really hasn’t worked before.”

Pitt College Republicans President Casey Rankin, whose organization endorsed Romney during the primaries — the first time the group has endorsed a primary candidate — thought that Romney’s appearance at the Republican National Convention provided him an opportunity to redefine himself to the electorate.

“Romney’s primary goal during the convention is to define himself and his positions on his own terms,” Rankin said in an email.

But Pitt College Democrats President Lara Sullivan said a Romney presidency would negate gains made by the middle class under Obama.

“Romney and Ryan’s plan for our nation’s future would simply take us back — back to a place in which the wealthiest Americans prosper and the middle class suffers,” Sullivan said. “The choices are very clear in this election.”