Sentence:  Speaking before a small crowd beneath antique airplanes suspended in the atrium of the State of Iowa Historical Museum, an effortfully cheerful Mr Romney <WSD>assayed</WSD> an early version of a stump speech I imagine will become a staple of his campaign for the Republican nomination, once it "officially" begins some time next week in New Hampshire. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To attempt (something). (from 14th c.)