Comments will start below the cut:
10:06–I wonder if anyone is going to mount a campaign declaring that a war hero really isn’t a war hero. Nah. Who’d do something like that? Anyway, I think I’ll keep a running tally of how many times he mentions the word “Vietnam.”
10:09–Anybody see the website promoting the ticket of Saul Tigh and Laura Roslin? There’s a whole website. I think I’ll get some of the buttons. It’s really amazing how much Tigh and Roslin look like McCain and Palin.
10:14–I think Bill Murray’s guys from “Stripes” are entering. I hear them.
10:15–He’s against a green screen. I can’t wait to see stuff get animated behind him.
10:16-I could swear I just saw someone holding up banner that are anti-McCain. How’d he get in there? Yeah! There it is. “McCain votes against Vets.” They’ve shown that guy three times so far; more than Palin.
10:18–Funny he doesn’t mention George HW Bush by name. And he didn’t mention George W. at all.
10:20–His mother looks amazing for her age. 96 years. Kind of undercuts the notion that McCain, at 72, is at death’s door.
10:21–He takes the high road with Obama. He can afford to considering the abundance of cheap shots his VP took the night before. A little late.
10:22–“We’re going to win this election! Because we’re giving money to the companies building the voting booths!”
10:23–They’re hauling out “pro-choice” protesters.
10:24–He’s trying to keep his temper. I’m not altogether sure the people shouting “USA” are GOP.
10:26–Does being investigated for corruption count as tackling corruption?
10:26-She’s worked with her hands and nose? Oh…with her hands and knows–… Got it.
10:27–She’s never been to Washington? Weird.
10:28–So the great McCain vision is to co-opt Obama’s campaign catchphrase of “change”? That’s forward thinking.
10:29–He’s not wearing a flag pin. I wonder if right wing pundits are going to harrangue him over that.
10:30–I think they’ve managed to throw out everyone who was protesting him.
10:31–Okay…he DOES know we haven’t won in Iraq, right? Plus the Taliban is resurging and bin Laden is still free.
10:33–Where is it written that Presidents and presidential aspirants always have to start pulling out the names of various random citizens to show they have touch with the little people?
10:35–“we have let Washington change us.” Yes. So says the one-time Centrist who has moved further right and brought on a further right VP candidate so he can get elected.
10:36-But the reason your party has strayed so far from basics is because of the policies and activities of George W. Bush, with whom you voted 90% of the time. I don’t think you can be both part of the problem AND the solution.
10:37–Now he’s hauling out the activist judges saw.
10:38–You know what? The history of Republican tropes against Democrats is kind of like synagogue, where the same thing is said over and over again and the worshippers respond exactly the same way. You can cut and paste anti-Democrat rants from 20, 30 years ago into today without a hitch.
10:41–Okay. Sounds good, finding more jobs that won’t go away. how?
10:42–So…the government is going to make up the difference in job wages while you’re training for a new job? But…if Obama put that forward, wouldn’t that be criticized by the GOP?
10:43–“GENERAL Obama?”
10:44–I like the shot of the guy yawning in the audience. Kind of sums up what I’m seeing: A flat and not especially exciting delivery of an uninspiring speech thus far.
10:46–I love how mentioning drilling brings Sarah Palin to her feet. How a governor of a naturally glorious state like Alaska can be anti-environment in her policies bewilders me.
10:48–Playing the terrorism card. Right out of the W playbook, although Bush remains unmentioned.
10:49–“But I’m not afraid of them. I just want to make YOU afraid of them.”
10:50–There’s one. But that’s not much.
10:51–Except there has been nothing in any of his various speeches or comments leading up to this that indicate he’s anything other than a hawk rather than someone interested in peace. Meanwhile Obama, who talks of negotiation and peace, is pilloried as being soft on security and on our enemies.
10:52–But don’t the Republicans bear a sizable measure of responsibility for Washington being the way it is?
10:54–Yeah, and Bush was a uniter, not a divider. We’ve already heard a GOP presidential candidate talking about working with the Democrats. Haven’t seen it happening.
10:55–Two mentions of Vietnam thus far.
10:56–It’s a compelling story; I just wish he had some different inflections in how he told it. He makes everything sound exactly the same. I feel as if he could be talking about being tortured or giving a brownie recipe, each is going to be given equal emphasis with no variation.
11::00-“I wasn’t my own man; I was my country’s.” Took 50 minutes, but he finally got to the sound bite.
11:02–“nothing brings greater happiness than to serve a cause greater than yourself.” Nice line.
11:04–Ðámņ. I was so hoping he’d say “Never give up, never surrender.”
Same dámņëd thing as Obama. He started to get on a roll and then, boom, that was it.
As a speechmaker he still can’t touch Obama. But speeches have never been his strength. He does far better with town hall formats or being folksy during discussions, which Obama still hasn’t got the hang of. The next few months should be…interesting.
And Bush was never mentioned.
• 
Wait — McCain was in Vietnam? Why doesn’t anybody mention it?
Is that music from the Big Valley?
Sounds more like the DALLAS theme to me.
Dallas! Thank you.
Okay, that voice who just did the voiceover between the video and the speech sounded really, really familiar. Who the heck was that?
The music is extremely reminiscent of the theme from the show Dallas. You know, the show about that rich oil family.
I thought it was Fred thompson
Tim, I think it was Fred Thompson.
THAT’S IT! DALLAS! I KNEW I heard it somewhere, and that it was a TV theme, but couldn’t put my finger on it!
Wait — did Sarah Palin just inadvertently flash cleavage at the camera?
Pretty sure the guy reading the intro was Fred Thompson. Makes sense – he is an actor, after all.
Music from Dallas? Yeesh. Might as well have just played something patriotic instead.
Thompson makes sense; thanks, all.
McCain’s in front of a green screen again. Some media consultant really hasn’t learned their lesson from the speech he gave a few months ago.
Didn’t take long to bring up 9/11…
Are they Cheering 911?
They’ve shown that guy three times so far
Oooh, more proof of media bias!
10:19pm Wow, he opens up with a 9/11 reference. Is this John McCain, or has Rudy Giuliani bound and gagged him, and disguised himself as him?
I thought I saw that anti-McCain sign as well. Weird weird weird.
Does he include the children who waited for him when he was a POW when he talks about Cindy and their 7 children?
Hey, they showed VIDEO CLIPS of 9/11 an hour or two ago. Why would the speech be any different?
PAD he mentioned Bush very quickly before the 9/11 moment
That “pop” sound you just heard was Stephen Colbert’s erection forming when he saw that the picture of a lawn that McCain is standing in front of is, effectively, a green screen.
They do need to stop cutting to the protestor guy. We’ve seen him, that’s enough.
Okay, a classy move there in the Obama references. Not that the hall applauded for a pro-Obama comment, though.
Oh, and now it’s a blue screen instead of green. Reminds me of the friend who suggested that the ultimate Trek cloaking device would be to paint the Enterprise aquamarine blue.
10:25pm Oh, now that was just ugly. And you know the right winger pundits are going to use that against us, by pointing out that that didn’t happen during the DNC.
Showing McCain’s Mom so much is definitley a smart move. Especially since she got a joke in the intro video. It really is a strong
DAMMIT! Stupid Code Pink morons! You’re not helping! Go away!
“They do need to stop cutting to the protestor guy. We’ve seen him, that’s enough.”
Yeah. I’m not for McCain, but they’re getting silly about it. And now a code pink stripper is getting taken away as well. Cut away… Please.
Oh, my. Much as I sympathize with Code Pink, I don’t think disrupting McCain’s speech was a good idea at all. Don’t make him look like a victim.
Brown noise? What the heck is a brown noise?
I don’t think it’s pro-choice, PAD; assuming that it’s Code Pink (and it looks it), they’re an anti-war group.
I had the same “hands and nose” thought. Not a great line on his part.
McCain can’t introduce Palin to Washington, she’s already been there. She went while she was Mayor of Wasilla to ask for more earmarks.
Does McCain not realise that the do nothing me first country second politicians are the Republicans who controlled the house until 2 years ago?
10:30–I think they’ve managed to throw out everyone who was protesting him.
Well, everyone who’s inside the hall, anyway…
10:29–He’s not wearing a flag pin. I wonder if right wing pundits are going to harrangue him over that.
It would be extremely hypocritical if they don’t, so I’m guessing NO.
McCain just mentioned that pulling out of Iraq would have demoralized our military. Is this a good time to mention that in the last few years, military suicides have increased significantly? *Being* in Iraq has taken a toll on our soldiers.
10:32 So is McCain going to come out with support for universal health care?
Doesn’t want to lose the war to win the election: he’s giving a speech of talking points already in circulation. Was no one available to proofread?
If he wears a bracelet for everyone who died in Iraq, his health won’t be an issue. He’ll be crushed to death.
Peter David: 10:24–He’s trying to keep his temper. I’m not altogether sure the people shouting “USA” are GOP.
Luigi Novi: Y’know, it’s funny, I kinda got that same feeling after hearing them the second time. The first time I heard them, it was when that guy was being hauled away, so I assumed it was from people doing it to counter the spectacle of that incident. But then they interrupted McCain a second time, when the camera was on McCain, and I wondered, why would McCain’s people do that? Was someone else being hauled away off-camera? I was wondering if there was a large group screaming “U.S.A.!” that was not part of the “scheduled events”.
Okay, an interesting move to point out that Republicans have fallen prey to corruption. Not sure that I agree with all the points he made along those lines, but that broke through some of the hubbub.
Tim Lynch: I had the same “hands and nose” thought. Not a great line on his part.
Luigi Novi: Ditto. Overall, his speech doesn’t really inspire me the way Obama’s does.
McCain is definitely giving a vastly better speech than the infamous green screen speech. He’s still not a great speaker, but he’s not dragging things down like I expected.
10:36 Unless the Judges are legislating to throw the 2000 election
10:35–“we have let Washington change us.” Yes. So says the one-time Centrist who has moved further right and brought on a further right VP candidate so he can get elected.
Well, sure. They let Washington turn them into caricatures. That was the change they needed.
“Don’t legistlate from the bench.”
So it’s safe to assume they won’t be overturning Roe vs. Wade, then?
The fact that protesters have gotten in, several times today now apparently, either leads me to believe that their security is crap, or, and I’ll let the conspiracy theorist run wild here, they’ve just created an incident as further fuel for the attack campaign.
10:40 “A government that allows you to make more choices for yourself.” Yeah, unless it’s a pregnant woman who didn’t get sex ed wants to control her own body, and your running mate ends up in the Oval Office somehow.
The camera cut to Sarah Palin when McCain said, “Culture of life.” Just in case anyone didn’t realise he was talking about abortion.
Oh, and more lies about Obama’s tax plan.