A couple of protesters did disrupt things while McCain was speaking, including a woman from Code Pink who apparently put up quite a fight.

After the drop, I got closer to the floor where the Texas delegation was. This was right next to the black platform in the middle with the “McCain Palin” logos on the side, which was set up as a perch for photographers and videographers.

Things were pretty tight, so I joined a train formed by a crew by Access Hollywood to get through the crowd.

Balloons were everywhere. State delegations on the floor are arranged in specific seating areas with aisles in the middle.

The floor is the most interesting area at any convention. Here we see a reporter, a guy with a blue elephant hat, and someone who is clearly managing a lot of dreadlocks.

Note the guy in the Lincoln costume in the background.

The convention floor is filled with reporters and is an excellent place to get some attention from the press. After the balloon drop, a journalistic free-for-all ensued, with interviews taking place everywhere.

Secret Service agents quickly occupied the stage after McCain, Palin and their families walked off. Maintaining a secure area immediately after the event is essential so as to leave a consistent account of what happened in case of an incident.

I made a quick visit to Reuters offices downstairs afterwards. Most news agencies had on-location staff in balcony booths looking out on the floor, but also larger back offices that were handling the bulk of the work.

And here’s the Associated Press…

Earlier tonight, John McCain delivered his acceptance speech inside the Xcel Energy Center here in St. Paul, Minnesota. He touched on the war on terrorism, taxes, education, energy policy, and a whole host of other issues.

“I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them. I will cut government spending. He will increase it,” McCain told the assembled crowd.

The real goal of this speech was to tie up the themes from each of the previous three nights into a coherent message and make a case to the American people about why they should consider voting for McCain. Those themes were prosperity, reform, and peace… along with the overall idea of putting your country before your own self-interests.

The most powerful moment of the night came towards the end when he shouted over a roaring crowd: “Fight with me. Fight with me. Fight with me. Fight for what’s right for our country,” McCain said. “Stand up, stand up and fight.”

The newly minted nominee and his Vice-President left the convention center after the balloon drop and headed for the airport to fly out and begin campaigning together.

The general election has really begun.

The atmosphere inside the Xcel Energy Center was electric tonight as Alaska Governor Sarah Palin took to the stage to accept her party’s nomination for Vice-President of the United States. Governor Palin was introduced by a trio of former Presidential contenders: Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney.

Huckabee and Giuliani were excellent speakers, but I found Romney’s speech to be a bit of a tired lecture. I could see the teleprompter while Huckabee was speaking and it was fun to note the points when Governor Huckabee would jump off script for a little bit. His line about Palin getting more votes for mayor than Joe Biden got for President caused an eruption of laughter and applause.

But the highlight was Sarah Palin. She had a series of great one-liners and delivered her address with ease and comfortable confidence. At several points she took on Obama’s lack of experience and substance with much success.

“In politics,” she said, “there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.”

It was an amazing night in the convention hall, and tomorrow promises to be even more exciting. To keep up with our convention blogging, check out the Conservative Pulse Convention Journal.

Here is some video we recorded of the protest as it got started in the early evening. We went undercover, removing all badges and Republican identification. Naturally, we were safely on the other side of the wall by the time things turned ugly.

Would someone please tell me where that Republican Party is? Because it’s not here.

I haven’t met a single Republican who is anything less than thrilled with Sarah Palin… family and all. And I also haven’t encountered many people who aren’t 100% behind John McCain. So, who in the world are these commentators talking about? It’s beyond my comprehension.

You would think the focus would be on the fact that we had Joe Lieberman, the Democratic Party’s Vice-Presidential nominee just 8 years ago, speaking here and endorsing John McCain for President. That was a history-making speech, but it got barely any play on MSNBC next to the negative material about Sarah Palin.

Chris Matthews even tried to speculate that McCain might drop Palin from the ticket. If he was paying any attention at all, he’d have noticed that picking Palin is probably what saved this convention and has helped keep Obama out of the spotlight for almost a week now. Delegates, party officials, and the rank and file are excited about her. To drop a running mate over these completely trivial scandals is absurd.

Why don’t we start wildly speculating if Obama will drop Biden because of his frequent gaffes?

There is a huge disconnect going on here in Minnesota, between the reality of this convention and the media talking heads who are covering it. Broadcast news is staggeringly out of touch.

So far today, our candidate is scheduled to appear at 4:15 eastern on Lou Dobb’s radio show and at 9:00 p.m. eastern, he’ll appear on Your World with Neil Cavuto
on Fox News for a convention wrap-up.

Over the next few days as he makes the media rounds, Bob is going to be making his way in and out of the Xcel Energy Center where the RNC Convention is taking place.

Barr is at the RNC not only because he’s a former Republican trying to appeal to conservatives, but also because Ron Paul is here. Paul’s Rally for the Republic is going on right now, with speakers like Jesse Ventura and Barry Goldwater, Jr.

Barr will also make an appearance, in an attempt to appeal to these loyal libertarians who gave so generously to Paul’s campaign but have largely ignored his own efforts. To date, Barr has raised only $800,000… which amounts to a few hours of the McCain or Obama campaign’s own fundraising.

Stephen and I left Jacksonville this morning at about 6am, which means I’ve been up a few hours before that. We first flew to Atlanta and then arrived in Minneapolis by about 10am Central time.

We registered and got our credentials first, then it was down to the Xcel Energy Center for the opening of the convention.  Once we finished up at the Xcel Center, it was back to our hotel to enjoy the Florida delegation’s hospitality suite for a bit before having dinner with a couple of delegates. There was supposed to have been a full program tonight, including addresses by the President and Vice-President, but they’re off dealing with Hurricane Gustav.

Tomorrow’s schedule looks pretty full and begins with a Florida delegation breakfast at 8:30. If time permits, we’re going to try and check out the famed Mall of America as well.

To keep up with our travels and see more photo, visit the Convention Journal!

We landed this morning and have since checked into our hotel (we’re staying with the rest of the Florida delegation).  In a few minutes we will be heading over to the convention site… you can keep up with our travels in the Convention Journal.

Cheney plans to speak the same night that President Bush will address delegates, spokeswoman Megan Mitchell said Friday. The convention is scheduled to run from September 1-4 and Conservative Pulse will be covering it live from Minneapolis. Senator McCain will accept his party’s nomination on the final night.

This is probably by design, as the McCain campaign is working overtime to distance themselves from the Bush administration. No need to give Barack Obama footage of Cheney and McCain hugging or anything like that.

CNN reports that there’s still some chance Cheney might show up…

A second Republican official said there are still “talks going on” between Cheney’s office and the McCain camp and both sides are “still trying to work it out.”

The conservative American Spectator first reported Monday Cheney, who has low national approval ratings but is still popular among conservatives, is not expected to attend the convention.

McCain spokesman Brian Rogers side-stepped a question about whether the Senator has invited Cheney, saying the campaign has “not announced the speakers or any details” about the convention at this point.

Cheney spokeswoman Megan Mitchell also told CNN the details for the convention are still in flux. “His schedule for next week has not even been set-up,” Mitchell said, suggesting there has been no final decision on the convention.