McCain nominated, Palin steals the show

ST PAUL (USA), Sept 04 (AP) John McCain accepted the Republican nomination for President Thursday, riding the crest of a political wave unleashed by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, his running mate who whipped convention delegates into a frenzy of support for the party standard-bearer and unleashed a burst of conservative enthusiasm few expected or even thought possible.brThe Republican Party's conservative Christian base had been lukewarm, even wary of the 72-year-old McCain, but in picking the deeply conservative Palin to join him on the ticket and attacking the news media for scrutinising her record, the four-term Arizona senator energised what had been a lacklustre convention. brPalin had gone in one week from virtual unknown to one of the most controversial figure in American politics, and her speech was the most anticipated event of the four-day convention.brShe clearly sated Republicans in the overflowing Xcel Centre who had been hungering to hear slashing attacks on Democratic nominee Barack Obama and assurances that she and McCain were their kind of people. brIn the glow of Palin's address, McCain locked up the nomination late Wednesday in an anti-climatic roll call vote of delegates who appeared far more at ease with their candidate and more hopeful that the self-styled maverick could overcome the legacy of George W Bush and gave their party four more years in the White House. brIt was not clear how Palin's speech would affect the overall race, but judging by the thunderous applause in the convention centre, party loyalists were enraptured by her timing and clear willingness to take on the role of attacking Obama.brPalin took special care in introducing her husband and five children, including a son who was a soldier heading to Iraq, a 17-year-old unwed pregnant daughter and a son born in April with Down syndrome.brOur family has the same ups and downs as any other, the same challenges and the same joys, she said.brShe mixed praise for McCain, quips about small-town life, and criticism of Washington insiders with smiling but sarcastic assaults on Obama.brVictory in Iraq is finally in sight; he wants to forfeit, she said. Al-Qaida terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America; he's worried that someone won't read them their rights.brMcCain made his first convention appearance after the speech to embrace Palin and her family.brDon't you think we made the right choice for the next vice president of the United States, McCain asked through deafening noise in the hall after Palin's polished appearance, her first before a national television audience.