Rev. Sammy Rodriguez of Sacramento delivers the benediction, calling on protection for "those touched by the storm called Isaac."

Delegates are heading home for the night, and here's the schedule for tomorrow: www.cnn.com

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani weighed in on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's keynote speech Tuesday, explaining what he thinks the governor meant when he said it's better to be respected than to be loved.

"You've got to sometimes make very tough decisions that people might not like," Giuliani said Wednesday on CNN's "Starting Point." "That's what's lacking in government today. They can't make difficult decisions about Social Security, Medicare."

Ann Romney a calming presence on campaign trail

By: CNN Senior Producer Kevin Bohn

Tampa, Florida (CNN) – Her family calls her the Mitt Stabilizer. Ann Romney, who is someone who is known to be able to calm her husband down when needed, is taking center stage in trying to paint a more personal picture of her husband of 43 years.

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Sen. Rob Portman, who was considered a top contender for Mitt Romney’s running mate, was recently tapped to play President Obama in Romney’s debate prep. On CNN’s “Starting Point,” co-anchor John Berman asked Portman “how tough” he’ll be on Romney during debate practice.

“Very tough, I hope,” Portman said. “The point is to be so hard that halfway through the debate he says, ‘Well, that wasn't so bad’.”

“Has anybody ever taken a swing at you in these things?” Berman asked.

“It's come close. Usually it's the candidate's spouse listening in,” Portman replied.

Christie: Romney will 'tell us the hard truths'

By: CNN's Halimah Abdullah

Tampa, Florida (CNN) -- Chris Christie brought his trademark passion to the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, delivering a robust endorsement of Mitt Romney for president and advocating a tough-minded approach for dealing with the nation's economic and political problems.

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Janna Ryan, wife of Romney’s running mate Paul Ryan, thanked supporters and the Romneys at a campaign breakfast in Tampa.

“Thank you to the Romneys for welcoming me, my husband, Paul, our three children on this journey,” Janna Ryan said in her brief remarks. “It is a privilege to join you and Mitt on this campaign. It is a tremendous honor.”

Romney’s wife, Ann, was also at the breakfast.

Mitt Romney appeared in a surprise video at the campaign breakfast to introduce his wife.

“I’ve been reading about how this week is supposed to be my big moment. But I only get to be in Tampa for one night, and then I looked at Ann’s schedule. Well the phrase, ‘While the cats away, the mice will play’ comes to mind. By the time I get to town, the delegates may have decided to nominate Ann instead. And you think if Ann were the nominee, the press would write stories about how my job is to humanize Ann? I don’t think so,” he said, prompting laughs from the crowd,” he said.

He later added: “Thank you for coming today and honoring my sweetheart.”

One night after delivering her speech at the RNC, Ann Romney gave another address at a campaign breakfast for women.

"You know they say women aren't as good at math. Guess what, we know how to balance a checkbook. And we're the ones that have to budget a family household. We are also the ones that love our children and grandchildren. We are the ones that are not going to leave a legacy of debt to them for our recklessness from what we're doing this generation," she said. "And that is part of the reason why I said to Mitt, 'You've got to do this again'."

Convention trivia from CNN's Political Research Unit:

The first Republican convention was held in Philadelphia in 1856. Nearly 600 delegates participated, representing all of the Northern states, the border states of Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Virginia (as well as D.C.). There were no delegates from the Southern slave states.

At its 1832 convention, the Democratic Party established the now famous tradition of the presidential roll call vote, passing a resolution requiring that "the majority of the delegates from each state designate the person by whom the votes for that state shall be given."

CNN's Gut Check takes a look at five things to look for Wednesday at the convention.

1. More Energy. It is Paul Ryan's night, and the charismatic vice presidential nominee has to rally the Republican base and shake off the convention's delayed start and subdued first night.

2. More differentiation with President Obama. In 2008 Arizona Sen. John McCain left it to his vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin to skewer then-Sen. Barack Obama (Who could forget the line: "This is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform – not even in the state Senate"?). Will Ryan do that in a way that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie did not?

(...)

Is Sikh-led prayer at RNC a hollow gesture?

By: Valarie Kaur, Special to CNN

(CNN) -- The Republican National Convention will make history Wednesday night. Ishwar Singh, wearing a turban and beard, will take the stage and lead thousands of conservatives in prayer.

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At the breakfast, Santorum said that when he met with Romney after dropping out of the race, he gave Romney some advice:

“The advice I said to him is if this campaign is about personality, between you and Barack Obama, we’re not going to win,” he said, adding that drawing a contrast between a wealthy businessman and an incumbent president with high likability ratings would not be a winning strategy. “We have to make it about the issues of this country and the future of this country. If we make it about that, then we’ll win.”

Santorum talked about the non-profit group he formed, Patriot Voices, which advocates for conservative candidates and causes.

“We’re going to get out there and focus on about five swing states--remind them that what Barack Obama is doing is leading you on a road to serfdom, a road to dependency,” he said, repeating his criticism of the president from his speech the night before.