'We can do better,' Iowa congressional hopeful Archer tells GOP at convention

Repeating the phrase “we can do better,” Republican congressional hopeful John Archer of Bettendorf was one of more than a dozen GOP candidates to give speeches to the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday.

Archer lamented the country's high jobless rate, the debt and the inability of the economy to fully get back on track.

“We keep waiting for it to improve - and waiting and waiting and waiting,” he said. “We don't have to wait any more. We can do better.”

Archer's remarks, which were delayed a day along with the start of the convention, came as part of a midday segment of the convention aimed at highlighting Republican lawmakers and challengers.

The range of candidates came from such states as North Carolina, Montana, Indiana, Texas and South Carolina. And they hewed to the line of lower taxes, less spending, less government, criticism of President Barack Obama - and praise for the Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan ticket.

Archer did not mention his rival, Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa. He also stuck to an issues-centric script, not doing what some of the other speakers did - invoking individual anecdotes or personal family histories.

The opportunity for Archer to speak to the convention is a rarity for an Iowa challenger, and the speech could be seen nationwide on C-SPAN.

It's not clear how the speakers were selected. But some came from presidential swing states, such as North Carolina, Virginia, Iowa and Wisconsin.

The chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, led off the parade of speakers, calling the GOP candidates the party's “lead salesmen.”