Why is Romney courting the Tea Party? Because it’s more likeable than he is

It wasn’t hard to tell the Republican establishment from the Tea Party activists at this year’s Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. The different uniforms illustrated the unresolved tensions that run through American conservatism. In the convention hall, the regular Republicans often looked dressed for dinner at eight — smart jackets and pearls. A boy from West Virginia sported an orange bow tie beneath his coal miner’s hat. But at a separate Tea Party Unity Rally held in a local church, the audience of some 2,000 came dressed for a barbecue — T-shirts, jeans and the occasional crazy with a tricorn hat and musket. The atmosphere was folksy and amateurish; there was even a raffle. Yet the Unity Rally had a raw popular appeal which somehow managed to menace the convention hall. The message from the Tea Party: ‘We’re not finished with the Republican Party yet.’

Officially, the aim of the 2012 Republican convention was to relaunch Governor Romney as an electable candidate who is more than just a rich, tax-dodging businessman.