John McCain's speech - live
I'll be commenting on John McCain's acceptance speech live, so please keep refreshing your page to read my most recent updates.
21:17: A slightly tentative start from John McCain with praise for Laura Bush. Most Americans know that the Bushes and McCains are not close. He can't waste time in this speech with platitudes - he's got to say something exciting.
21:21: The stage is low, looking in from the side. It appears that John McCain is attached to the crowd. It's a nice effect - it certainly works from the angle I'm at.
21:25: A protestor is shouting - the crowd is drowning him out with prolonged shouts of "USA".
21:26: This is now becoming a serious distraction. Another protestor is shouting as he's hauled out of the arena - will McCain be put off his stride?
21:27: The protestor's silenced now - and there's a huge cheer for a mention of Sarah Palin.
21:30: A strange part of th speech now where he's talking about changing Washington - does he think President Bush has been a good thing or a bad thing? It's one of the questions he's going to have to address in the speech. It's almost as if the enemy has been in power in Washington for the last eight years.
21:36: An important little story now about a family having a tough life in the heartland. It ends with him saying: "Their lives matter to me". If people believe that, McCain has a chance of winning this. If he's unconvincing he simply can't win. And he knows the polls show most people don't think he understands their lives.
21:41: We've reached a section of the speech where he goes through the things he would do and the things Obama would do - with cheers for him and boos for Obama. The audience is energised but I'm not sure it plays that well around the nation.
21:42: A good line on jobs: "We're going to help workers who've lost a job that won't come back to find a new one that won't go away".
21:44: A promise for more choice in education gets good cheers as well. This is the kind of thing that the country needs to hear, though frankly I think this audience would rather be cheering and booing - and they're still dreaming of Sarah...
21:47: A big cheer as well for a promise to drill new oil wells off the American coast. Funny, he hasn't mentioned man-made global warming. The Iron Lady from Alaska doesn't think it exists. A real straight-talk express line would have been to tell this audience - and her - that it does.
21:51: A promise of solidarity with Georgia is almost whispered. It's a style that leaves the audience here a little non-plussed but I suspect on TV it works quite well. He looks calm and controlled. A ranting McCain would frighten the horses.
21: 52: Again, when he says "I know how to stand up to those who oppose us", he whispers it. The line has little effect in the hall but may well strike a chord outside.
21:54: I thought for one brief and very strange moment that Cindy McCain had walked out. This would be news event. In fact I would probably have to stop blogging to cover it. But in fact the family have simply moved behind the scenes to prepare to join him on the stage later.
21:58: He tells the story of being shot down over Vietnam with a twinkly charm. Humorous, but it brings you up short to look at him - a 72-year old man - and to think what his body has been through. And his mind.
22:01: I wonder if part of his low-key speaking style is a deliberate effort to draw a distinction between himself and Obama.
22:05: The end of the speech is almost entirely drowned out by cheering. Most people can't hear what he's staying but they don't care. They think there ought to be one rousing moment so they've decide to make one for themselves.
Thanks for reading - log on later on when i'll be giving you a more considered take - and other people's reactions as well.
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