...at least until the gin kicks in.

7:02 PDT
The new configuration of the stage made me think:
And I'm too sexy for your party
Too sexy for your party
And I do my little turn on the catwalk
Yeah on the catwalk on the catwalk yeah
I do my little turn on the catwalk

Is that wrong?

7:03 PDT
Why is the press pulling out the "most important speech of his life" cliche for McCain (as they did for Palin)? I don't remember that for Obama or Biden...

7:08 PDT
Film is good so far...I have seen footage of McCain on the Forestall climbing down the nose of his plane and jumping through flames...wonder why that isn't used more? And why does no one discuss what I found most impressive--that McCain had to work hard to get transferred back to a carrier in combat operations because the Forestall was damaged and heading back to stateside?

7:15 PDT
The green background is horrible.

7:18 PDT Dr. Zaius
Drinking game (since gin is afoot). Chug when he says "my friends." I'm afraid my blogging will looookk lliidkkeeeadg thissssgouassss before too long. (And, yes. Green background is bad. Green = money = GREED!!!!) Good thing it changes constantly.

7:24 PDT
The protesters are scumbags. McCain is a class act.

7:24 PDT Dr. Zaius
McCain handled that jerk very, very well. Though by the second time, he was visibly (and rightly) getting irritated. I wonder how the coverage of this will be. I can only imagine what would have happened if Right Wing Nuts interrupted The One's sermon.

7:28 PDT
Anchor Genevieve gin is very good, if very cold.

7:31 PDT Dr. Zaius
Gotta hand it to John McCain. It's not easy to sell yourself as a "maverick" in front of a crowd that is largely irritated by how his "maverick" streak has gummed up conservative positions on global warming and immigration, etc. But he's doing a good job. On earmarks, he's right on. "I will make them famous, and you will know their names." Good line.

I also see that he left "Big Oil" out of his litany of corporate "villains" he's gone after. Palin whispering in his ear?

7:31 PDT Dr. Zaius
A Petraeus mention — lauding his historic accomplishments. Don't recall hearing that name once in the Dem convention. Guess he's not as worthy of speaking about on that side.

7:36 PDT
This is good stuff...fighting for the soul of the GOP.

This isn't a practice State of the Union like Obama's speech--it is a statement of beliefs.

7:38 PDT Dr. Zaius
This "we believe" stuff is good. It reminds not just Republicans, but the country, what the party is supposed to believe in. "We believe in markets." God, it's been a long time since I've heard that. Amen, Brother McCain. Quibble: "Cut (taxes) where I can"? A little too qualified for my ears.

7:40 PDT Dr. Zaius
Well, one of the criticisms of Palin was that she wasn't "specific" enough. McCain is quoting tax brackets. I think it's time for the Obama campaign to move on from that talking point. The One talked in nothing but generalities.

7:42 PDT Ben
I'm about 20 minutes and three cocktails behind on this speech. I don't think McCain can possibly live up to the media's impossible expectations, their double-standards, and their attendant hypocrisies. Screw the media. I'm watching the speech on C-Span. No color commentary. Also, I like how McCain framed the upcoming debates with Obama. We're all Americans, and that's an association that means more to me than any other. Beautiful. Then he Bowdlerizes the Declaration of Independence... Ah well.

7:45 PDT Dr. Zaius
Good way to frame it: "Education is the civil rights issue for this generation." This is a long riff on school choice (another specific!), and is a winning issue. And he's handling it great, rhetorically. "Find failing teachers another line of work," etc. Very good stuff that appeals to independents and some inner-city Democrats.

7:46 PDT
I wish he explained why we need to drill, instead of just having the mantra...but pro-nuke! Woo!

7:47 PDT Dr. Zaius
"My friends." Only the second one since I tuned in. Looks like I'll stay sober.

7:51 PDT
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!

7:54 PDT Dr. Zaius
The "scars to prove it" line was supposed to be a money line, at least according to Drudge. It came across ... flat. Poorly delivered. And if McCain meant to say "imperfect servant" of his country ... nice, humble line.

7:57 PDT
People will accuse McCain of "milking" his POW experience. Those people are wrong.

7:59 PDT Ben
Those Code Pink protesters should thank their lucky stars that Denver cops aren't working security tonight.

8:00 PDT Dr. Zaius
Telling his POW story. Compelling, and greatly framed. Speaks of how it humbled him, yet inspiring and heroic. Especially the part about turning down his release because he held to the code. It's telling about how awkward McCain still feels about relating this story that he thought he could just push through without people applauding through the heroic parts. "They broke me." Wow. Just ... wow.

8:02 PDT Dr. Zaius
Refers to America as "her." Sweetly old fashioned. Love that.

8:04 PDT
Good speech. He might not lose. Might not.

8:04 PDT Ben
Give McCain credit for a full-throated endorsement of school choice. If he can pull it off, good for him. Even better if he can undo Bush's foolish expansion of federal meddling in education. Hard to believe a federal voucher program would come without strings attached. Tax credits would be better... but impossible to pass.

Decent speech, yeah. Let the bloodletting begin.

8:06 PDT Dr. Zaius
Gosh. If he just didn't rush through that last part. If he paused, just a bit, line by line, stanza by stanza, the end wouldn't have seemed so ... anticlimactic. As he was rushing through I was thinking to myself. Please. Don't be the end. You've got the crowd going. Give them more ... then ... "GOOD NIGHT EVERYBODY!"

Oh well. Still, well done.

8:09 PDT Dr. Zaius
Heart's "Barracuda" wailing through the hall. No accident. Sarah Palin's high school basketball nickname: Barracuda. Awesome! Rock on!!!!

8:19 PDT Dr. Zaius
The Fox News All-Stars are a bit underwhelmed. Rightly so, I suppose. Compared to Palin's performance last night, this had many perfunctory moments that Palin didn't. But who could have followed that, though. But Bill Krystol has it right. A week ago, the Democratic convention looked hard to beat. The Republicans beat it. (Because of Palin, of course). Juan Williams "absolutely loved" that an old white guy said education was "the civil rights issue of our time." Interesting ...

Bottom line, the race has changed. Not so much because of what McCain said, but because of what Palin said to energize the base and pique the interests of independents. McCain, on the stump and in debates, will be strong. Soon, we'll finally see, if Obama is all that when faced with a real opponent in a political race.