(Again, these are my impressions typing live, while Mitt is speaking)

Mitt Romney gets a big reception tonight here at the Washington Briefing. Jay Sekulow introduces him. Jay gets a big reception.

Jay’s introduction revolves around Mitt Romney’s marriage fight in Massachusetts.

Mitt comes in to a grand anthem. The room goes nuts — a bigger reception than any of the other candidates. He begins pitch perfect.

“I’m pro-family on every level, from personal to political,” he says. He says his “driving ambition” is to have his kids and grandkids grow up in a national that his strong and prosperous.

He’s got this Mr. Rogers thing going on right now talking about family. Think Mr. Rogers as President. You can’t help but like him, but you can’t help but think it’s a bit too canned or polished the message and pitch are just perfect.

He praises single parents like his sister Jane, but says “two parents are the ideal setting.” He wants to teach kids that before they have babies they should get married. “It really is time to make out of wedlock birth out of fashion again.” And you know what? You believe him. He seems just so sincere. And the message resonates. Then he gets “hats off to Bill Cosby for telling it like it is.”

He moves on to talk about inner-city families where young boys have no father figures. “And then there are the broad national tragedies built on this implication. . . . The nation cannot thrive” he says, talking about so many kids without dads.

Ann Romney, he says, has worked all her life to teach kids how to make good choices and if she’s first lady, that’ll continue to be her mission, he says. “I’ll convene a White House summit” to look at family issues. “I’ll realign government incentives to encourage marriage, not discourage it.”

This guy sounds like he’s already the nominee. It’s like the other candidates were here to sell themselves and Romney has taken the difference approach — presume he’s already been sold to them and show them what they’ve gotten. It’s not a bad approach for him. It works.

This is the most professional candidate speech so far. He pauses at the intended applause lines. He gets the applause. He laughs at the punch lines and everyone else does too.

Oh, and he wants to reinstate the family impact statement. They like that. I don’t know what the heck it is.

Now he’s on marriage and the crowd goes nuts when he promises a constitutional amendment to protect marriage as that between a man and woman. “Every child deserves a mother and a father,” he says. BTW, tonight I saw a gay couple with adopted Asian kids for the first time. It was rather interesting.

He says he was a pro-life governor and there are several people in the crowd who make a guffaw sound. He keeps going. Interestingly though, in a very long list of things relating to life he will oppose, he says he will oppose “embryonic cloning,” but he does not say a word about embryonic stem cell research. It’s extremely noticeable because of the long list of things he listed.

“I’m going to fight the modern plague,” he says. “Internet pornography.” It’s a big transition from abortion. “Computer pornography gives a whole new meaning to the term home invasion,” he says. Then he says he’d require every computer sold in America to have an easy to use pornography filter. He says people who prey on kids online will be “one strike and your out,” and when they get out they’ll have to wear “ankle bracelets for life.”

He wants “every family to have healthcare.” This is where he stumbles. He says he’ll do it without Hillary Care or new taxes. The audience reacts and he stops. No one does anything. He continues.

Now he says we need a federal tax credit for parents who home school their kids. The folks here love that.

“The anti-religion of secularism in this country has got to come to an end. We are a nation under God and We. Do. Place. Our. Trust. In. Him,” he says. The crowd roars. “By the way, did you know I’m a Mormon? I’ve heard a few people think they can’t support a Mormon, but that’s just because they’ve seen Harry Reid.” The crowd doesn’t really laugh well. It’s fractured.

“We’re not going to beat Hillary Clinton by acting like Hillary Clinton,” he says and brings the crowd to a roar again. He then gets impassioned about this nation remaining strong. He says we begin by strengthening the family.

He goes on to say we know where to begin, we know what to do, and “I can wait for us to do it together.” The crowd gives him a big standing ovation. The music is again a triumphant anthem.

And he’s gone.

The funny thing listening to this really Presidential speech — and it was in tone, substance, and delivery — is that you almost wanted him to be less polished. As much as Fred is unpolished and you want him more polished, you want the opposite of Romney