Live Blogging John McCain's Acceptance Speech

A great introduction by a voice of a man unseen, telling how John McCain came to love his country more than ever before, when he had lost that country as a POW.

A photo is shown of the McCain's adopted daughter from Bangladesh -- a black girl who is now 17. It is refreshingly ironic that, in a campaign where he opposes the first black candidate, that McCain has a daughter who is also black.  The McCains adopted her as an infant.

McCain looks happy and refreshed and looks over the crowd with a smile.

After expressing his admiration and respect for Obama and Biden, a Code Pink protestor attempts to raise a banner and has it snatched from her hands. She rushes down the aisle opening her coat to reveal a pink shirt with a slogan, but I couldn't see what it says. The noise dies down after a minute or two, and McCain says "Don't be distracted by the noise and the static." Laughter.  The protestor and and a cohort are escorted from the hall.

Returning to his prepared remarks, McCain now praises Sarah Palin. He says he loved introducing her to the country, "but I can't wait to introduce her to Washington." Then he says to Washington, "Change is coming!"

Now he pledges to fight special interests and says he will veto the first pork spending bill that comes before him.

Now he lambasts those Republicans who lost the trust of the American people through corruption and big government spending, resulting in Republican losses in the Congressional elections. "We're going to change that," he says.

"We believe in faith, work, service. We believe in a culture of life. We respect judges 'who don't legislate from the bench.'"

Now he is comparing his policies to those of Barack Obama. He will lower taxes where his opponent will raise them.

He says that cutting taxes for small businesses will help raise employment and allow businesses to compete.

He talks about replacing failed schools by introducing competition and allowing parents choice in the schools their children attend. He says "We will encourage bad teachers to find another line of work."

Now he refers to his energy policy, saying "We're going to stop sending 700 billion dollars a year to countries who don't even like us. We're going to drill more wells and we're going to drill offshore. We'll build more power plants. We'll use more clean coal."

"Senator Obama thinks we can create more power without drilling more wells and building more power plants. But Americans know better than that."

He now turns to the subject of American security. He talks about the rise of Iran, the biggest exporter of terrorism worldwide. He talks of Russia's new aggression. He understands the military, what it can do, what it can do better, and what it ought not to do. He pledges to work to create an enduring peace, noting that he knows war, that he hates war and wants to prevent it.

McCain now discusses how the culture of Washington must change, to end bitter partisanship, which he says is caused by people serving themselves rather than the country. He says instead of rejecting good ideas because someone else thought of them first, let's use the best ideas from both parties. Instead of worrying about who gets the credit, let's share it.

He now tells of his experiences as a POW, which did much to end his personal selfishness, after he had been dumped into a cell with two other POWs to die. With two broken arms and a broken leg, he couldn't even feed himself. The other POW's did it for them and saved his life. One of the other POWs told him, through taps on his cell wall, that "No man can always stand alone." He came to realize that "I was no longer my own man. I was my country's."

"I'm not running for president because I think I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need.  My country saved me.  My country saved me, and I cannot forget it.  And I will fight for her as long as I draw breath, so help me God."

Extended applause.

He calls for public service, saying "That you can serve no greater cause than to serve a cause greater than yourself."

"Fight with me. Fight for our country. Fight for our future. Stand up and fight! Nothing is inevitable. We're Americans. We never quit. We don't give up in the face of history, we make history. Thank you and God bless America!"

The speech is finished; John Rich is singing "Raisin' McCain." The crowd is on its feed, applauding and dancing to the music.

A fine speech. Did it exceed that of Sarah Palin? No, but it wasn't half bad.

Obama has his work cut out for him.