A mixed performance. The ending worked, though in the hall I doubt anyone could hear him very well as he spoke through the crowd's applause. The final peroration -- "We're Americans. We don't hide from history. We make history" -- was strong stuff.

The difference when he's talking about something that truly animates him is startling.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
I'm watching McCain on TV, like most of America. I know the backdrop has been solid colors for most of the speakers, with a larger image above them, but that comes from watching the convention the past few days. For anyone tuning in tonight what they see, for the most part, is McCain in front of a blue screen -- leading me to wonder: are there advertisers missing an opportunity here?

He's struggling, as he sometimes does -- misplacing the emphasis on words, sounding at times like he's reading the speech for the first time, losing energy during the sections on issues he's never been particularly passionate about, buring applause lines in a string of sentences. It's as if he can't bring himself to pretend he's not reading a teleprompter -- that the charade distracts and frustrates him.

Or is it kind of weird for the Michigan and Pennsylvania delegations to cheer as McCain talks about the economic trouble and the people who are suffering in the their states?

UPDATE: Commenter Gunny asks: Deep question. At what point will Palin drop McCain?

Not sure what the protesters' goal is -- unless it's to elicit sympathy for McCain among the viewers who tuned in to hear his speech. His response -- telling the audience to ignore the "static" and that "Americans want us to stop shouting at each other" -- let him come across as reasonable and cool-headed.

Maybe I'm imagining this, but it seems there are a lot of women in these parts suddenly wearing their hair in up-dos.

The teleprompter gave up early in his address, because he was not following the words as prepared. Suffice it to say, most of the words he just said about leaders wondering what "God would think" and thinking about how "God sent his son to Earth" were not officially scripted. They came from the paper he carried to the stage. So it remains unclear whether Gibbs was speaking entirely for himself when he said that electing John McCain and Sarah Palin would bring "a return to God's word that will lead America to a spiritual revival."

(By the way, the Giants lead the Redskins 16 to 7 in the third quarter.)

The signs have been distributed all across the convention floor: "Peace" they say, hundreds of them, as if this was still 1968 and Eugene McCarthy still had a chance. And upstairs, in the convention kitsch shop, they are selling tie-dye "John McCain 2008" buttons. A little bit of conservative irony, and a whole lot of tactical messaging. Republicans are about to announce to the nation that they are the party of peace. The betting money is that McCain will not go so far tonight as to endorse Dennis Kucinich's plan to christen a new "Department of Peace."

UPDATE: "John is a leader committed to peace," Mel Martinez just said from the podium. It's a theme.

UPDATE: Richard Nixon was also big on "Peace," as in "Peace, Economy, Prosperity." See here.

About the loneliest precinct in the GOP these days is the one reserved for troublesome Republicans who think Gov. Sarah Palin was a poor VP choice, even after The Speech. Well, here I am. Hello? Anybody else? Wow, there is a big echo in here…

In my postings here and my appearances on NBC I've made the case that as far as helping John McCain win the election is concerned, the choice of Gov. Sarah Palin is a mixed bag. McCain get's a fellow reformer, but also pays the very heavy price of making a pick I think will only play well among the Republican base he already has. (In an private conversation fragment that landed on the Internet due to a open MSNBC microphone, I made my grouchy feelings about the base centered strategy Palin represents clear in a blunt manner. Sorry Sarah, it's nothing personal. It's the just the politics of the choice that I don't like.)

Today, after Gov. Palin's much applauded speech, my doubts remain. Again, it's not that I don't find her appealing. I like what I see in her fine family. I like that Gov. Palin fought corruption in Alaska. I like her Mom Goes to Juneau bio (except for the stuff about newly elected Mayor Palin muscling the local librarian a bit to consider banning some books). I think I would have probably voted for her to be my Governor if I had some enemies to escape and had suddenly fled to Alaska. I'll even say that as a red blooded and politically incorrect American male, I really like the idea that Palin could, if she felt like it, set a world wide pay per view box office record by stripping down to a wolf-fur bikini, running outside in the snow and effortlessly killing a caribou – or Joe Biden -- with her bare hands. (Save the howling protest emails about sexism; it's just a JOKE. Write the Wasilla librarian if you want it banned.)

What I don't like is the effect I think Palin will ultimately have on the ticket. With all her charm, she is still a pick aimed squarely at the Republican base. In a high turnout Presidential year, I am not worried about turning out the base. I'm worried about everybody else we need to win and I fear that among those voters, Sarah Palin will be a dud.

I know, I know, she's a “hockey mom” and through the magic of identity politics she is going to make female voters swarm across party lines in numbers that Gerry Ferraro never dreamed of since this identity politics hokum is only a good idea that is certain to work when, um, we Republicans try to do it.

Instead, I think she'll ultimately be a polarizer. After last night's smash, Republicans are in deep love. Nothing thrills ‘em like a good “us vs. them” speech. But I'd guess that most Democrats had the opposite reaction. In a year where the Democrat generic numbers are 10+ points better than the Republican, I don't like the math of a strategy that just polarized the election along party base lines. Among the vital sliver of voters in the middle, I think Palin's rock solid social conservatism will be a turn off. And while voters may value vision over experience, Palin's inexperience is a weakness, denying McCain an argument that has been helping him against Obama. It's not a real poll and therefore should be taken with an Alaska sized boulder of salt, but the Detroit Free Press asked a few swing voters to watch Gov. Palin's speech and then opine. You can read their reactions here

So that's my concern with Sarah Palin. Interesting person, bad strategic choice to win the election. I've sure been wrong before and perhaps I'm wrong this time. Some smart pols I respect think she'll be a real help. We'll know when we count the votes.