Liveblogging Night 4 of the RNC

Did anyone else catch Cindy McCain's Palpatine moment?

"The Republicans are about la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la, and keeping government in control and out of the way."

Service and community, community and service. When we feel like helping out, we do and that is awesome. Patrician, patrician, patrician. And by the way, screw you Bill Clinton for Rwanda.

Tom Ridge was dispatched to appeal to the intellectuals.

Every song the Republicans use in their videos sounds like Dallas.

John McCain is best described as a MAMMA'S BOY??

Oh, good. We have not yet heard this story during this convention.

He does look joyful and optimistic there. McCain's mom is a crackerjack.

He did do good work with reaching out to Vietnam and healing the rifts. Can't deny that.

The change must be safety, prosperity, optimism, and peace. The change will come from strength. (That's as close to a platform as we're gonna get.)

Fred Thompson again??? Is he the official voice of the GOP now?

When you're in a box, that's when you put your country first. What? But man, it was John McCain's introduction and he is walking up on that stage, and man he must be just a little bit proud of himself.

McCain Votes Against Vets banner got unfurled. Wow.

"I'm grateful to our President of the United States for leading us in these dark days." Well said.

No, I really do love this wife. Honest. She's a keeper.

Roberta McCain is going to draw more women voters proportionally than Sarah Palin. Sorry.

Obama has McCain's "respect and admiration". Also says being American is more important than any other "association". (Translation: I have shady people in my past too. Let's truce.)

WHOA, we thought they were booing "tough times." They were booing another protester. This is a HUGE MOMENT for McCain.

"My dear friends! Please don't be diverted by the ground noise and the static!" Brilliant.

Again there must have been some protestors, and once again they were shouted down with chants of "USA! USA!", diverting from McCain's lines. This is epic.

Right into introducing Sarah Palin, and the crowd goes deafening.

McCain threatens "Washington" with the Palinator, is the idea. It's mavericky.

I. Work. For. You.

Fill your groceries, buy your gas tank...

Okay. Seriously. Is the surge "working"? It seems we have lost nothing and gained a little, and we are now exhausted from the surge. The problems are going to hit in Jan-Feb '09 -- just as the next President takes over. Surely not a coincidence. Great last President we just had.

John McCain fights for you. You can trust him.

Some Republicans gave into corruption in Washington, and we lost their trust. We lost their trust. We're going to recover.

Note: The Republican ticket just became a creditable operation again.

And having said that, having sealed off the George Bush things, it's into Republican red meat. Activist Judges! Raising your taxes! Obama will close factories! McCain has a health care plan!(?) Obama's plan will force families out of their jobs and into gulags where there are BEUROCRATS!!!

Government assistance to unemployed workers is so 1950's. It's the only thing the GOP does not like about the 50's, apparently.

"Education is the civil rights issue of this century." So ... vouchers. We're wobbly to agnostic on this issue...

Well, this is not something a President can accomplish. But it puts Obama on the defensive about education. That's better than the usual.

Let's cut down on foreign aid: that's the deafening applause line.

Oh, wait. We forgot drilling.

McCain then named all other energy sources, and said he liked those as well and we'll look at those, but really: get the drills. Into the ground.

"I know how the world works. I know the good and evil in it."

Okay, he is really bringing it all together. There were assurances that he does not like war (knowing something about it) and he wants peace. But the question is how belligerent a peace is he going to wage, and will he be provoked on matters of honor?

You know? I'd actually be tempted to consider voting for him -- if it wasn't for his vice-presidential choice. That much conservatism and inexperience a heartbeat away is a crazy cocktail. UPDATE: If he was the mensch he's making himself out to be, he'd have given us somebody else.

Boy, it is difficult to liveblog a John McCain joint! He is such and old man and he starts telling these stories, and the stories are good and you don't want to interrupt him -- but they don't go anywhere! And now he's being tortured again, and I'm being sarcastic.

John McCain to Barack Obama: I CAN DOES PLATITUDES. HAPPY LRNED HOW 2 PUTT.

If you don't like the country, you should, among other things, get out and "defend the rights of the oppressed." But whatever you do, don't be a community organizer.

Okay, the applause during the "stand up and fight for our country" routine has to be staged. Good call, but totally staged.

And he's OUT. [Dude, is that Rush?]

Okay, so yeah, this is a race. And we all know the math if Barack loses Pennsylvania. And we all know how his last swing thru Pennsylvania went. What are we going to do about that?

UPDATE: Barracuda as campaign theme music? That just tipped the scales in Southwestern PA...