7:50 am ET

Many in the media (including me) are engaging in theater criticism and second-guessing about the staging of the final night of the Tampa convention.

But, by the standards of the Romney campaign victory imperatives, the candidate’s speech and many other elements of the truncated, three-day affair hit the mark:

• Reduce the likelihood that voters will detest Mitt Romney by Election Day.
• Keep the focus on the incumbent’s record on the economy, to the exclusion of everything else.
• Message to the millions of voters who cast their lot with Obama in 2008 but are open to being for Romney this time.

By those yardsticks, much of this week’s program was very well executed, with some high-profile exceptions. Maybe Eastwood, et al, Isaac, and Obama campaign bracketing will offset Boston’s gains to some extent. But, without a doubt, the Romney campaign got a lot of business done in Tampa.