TAMPA, Fla. – The Republican convention propelled Mitt Romney into the fall campaign on a high note, thanks to his well-received acceptance speech, an appealing cast of future party leaders and a relentless drumbeat of criticism of President Barack Obama’s record and leadership. Yet the proceedings also were clouded by troubling images of Hurricane Isaac and a bizarre performance by actor Clint Eastwood that left many viewers scratching their heads.

While the convention presented a show of party unity that once seemed distant, there still were questions about how the party would tackle issues such as Medicare and spending cuts.

The convention also didn’t offer the game-changing shift in momentum many activists had hoped for to reverse pre-convention polls showing Romney trailing Obama narrowly in several battleground states. And the focus on next week’s Democratic gathering means Romney’s own convention boost is likely to be short-lived.