Earlier this week, we learned that ABC, CBS, and NBC have no plans to broadcast the first night of the Republican National Convention in Tampa next week, ostensibly in order to ensure equal coverage of both the RNC and DNC conventions (the DNC already decided to cut their convention from four nights to three, ergo…). That Monday night, however, is the night that Ann Romney is slated to speak, which means that she wouldn’t get network coverage — yes, how very convenient for the Democrats, considering that they’re turning their convention into an “abortion-palooza” intended to scare the living daylights out of otherwise uninformed women around the country by making them think that ‘Republicans want to ban contraception,’ or something.

The Weekly Standard reports that the RNC and the Romney campaign are looking at reshuffling the speaking slots to get Ann Romney the maximum possible coverage, even if it means bumping one of our most valuable conservative rock stars, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio:

The Republican National Committee is making big changes to the lineup of speakers at the convention next week in Tampa to ensure that broadcast networks cover Ann Romney’s speech. Among the changes most seriously under consideration: moving Marco Rubio to Tuesday night and having Mrs. Romney speak Thursday night in the spot originally reserved for Rubio. …

But the shuffling could mean that the speaker widely considered the best communicator in the Republican party will address the convention at a time when the networks are unlikely to take his entire address live. In the scenario that Republican officials tell THE WEEKLY STANDARD is increasingly likely, Marco Rubio’s address would be shifted from Thursday night to Tuesday – the second night of the convention, but the first night the networks will be covering it live in primetime. The speech would begin at 10 p.m. on Tuesday night, just as the networks begin their coverage.

Marco Rubio is an amazing speaker, has Hispanic appeal, and is a reliable champion of free enterprise — but I also think we need to do what we gotta’ do to get Ann Romney in front of the cameras. This escalating “war on women” meme from the Democrats is getting patently ridiculous. Besides the very valuable role of humanizing and softening Mr. Romney, Mrs. Romney can also humanize and soften the Republicans’ platform on these supposed “women’s issues.” She’s had five children, she’s battled debilitating disease for much of her life, she’s raised a family. Her concerns are the same concerns of other women. She’s not scary, she’s not a politician, and she’s approachable. And best of all, she can, with authority, remind everyone that what women care about most is the economy. She could easily shape up to be a crucial player in the Republican party’s image — let’s get her into the most public arena possible!