The Briefing Room will liveblog John McCain's presidential nomination acceptance speech at the Republican convention.
The liveblog will begin at 10 p.m. ET, which is right before McCain is expected to take the stage in St. Paul, Minn.
According to excerpts of his address, McCain will talk about the bipartisan work he has done as a senator and contrast his record with Barack Obama's.
"I have that record and the scars to prove it," McCain plans to say. "Sen. Obama does not."
10:04 p.m.: To prep the delegates for McCain, a montage of McCain and his family is playing in the convention hall. It's playing up the military service of him and and his forebears.
The video meshes with the theme of the night so far. Speakers, including his wife, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, have been focusing on McCain's support for the U.S. military surge in Iraq and have been portraying him as someone Americans can trust as a commander-in-chief.
10:12 p.m.: The video narrator indirectly knocks Obama.
"The stars are aligned. Change will come," he says. "But change must mean safety."
10:16 p.m.: McCain is on stage.
According to a transcript of his speech, just released by his campaign, he'll start with a call for bipartisanship, which is a theme he'll weave throughout his address.
In the first half of his speech, he'll focus on domestic policy, including his proposals for the economy, which hasn't been mentioned much during the GOP convention.
He'll then turn to terrorism, Iraq and foreign policy, an area where Republicans believe they have an advantage over Obama and the Democrats.
McCain will spend the final portion of his speech talking about his story as a former prisoner-of-war.
Unlike previous convention speeches, McCain's address is light on attacks on Obama.
10:23 p.m.: Just as McCain made his call for bipartisanship, a protester who appears to be from the anti-war group Code Pink interrupts McCain.
The GOP crowd responds by chanting, "USA! USA!"
"My friends, please don't be diverted by the ground noise and the static," McCain jokes.
Here's the passage McCain was in the middle of when the one-person protest began:
Finally, a word to Senator Obama and his supporters. We'll go at it over the next two months. That's the nature of these contests, and there are big differences between us. But you have my respect and admiration. Despite our differences, much more unites us than divides us. We are fellow Americans, an association that means more to me than any other. We're dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal and endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights. No country ever had a greater cause than that. And I wouldn't be an American worthy of the name if I didn't honor Senator Obama and his supporters for their achievement.
But let there be no doubt, my friends, we're going to win this election. And after we've won, we're going to reach out our hand to any willing patriot, make this government start working for you again, and get this country back on the road to prosperity and peace.
10:28 p.m.: McCain gets a two-fer when giving a shout-out to his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R); he gets a roar of approval from the crowd, which is clearly enthralled with her, and he gets to tweak Obama at the same time.
"I'm very proud to have introduced our next vice president to the country," McCain said. "But I can't wait until I introduce her to Washington."
After the crowd finally stopped cheering after several seconds, he co-opted Obama's message.
"And let me offer an advance warning to the old, big spending, do nothing, me first, country second Washington crowd: change is coming."
10:39 p.m.: McCain is turning to the tried-and-true GOP playbook in going after Obama on domestic policy.
Without naming Obama, McCain is painting him as a big government liberal.
"I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them," McCain said, prompting boos from the delegates. "I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them. I will cut government spending. He will increase it."
McCain continued: My tax cuts will create jobs. His tax increases will eliminate them. My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance. His plan will force small businesses to cut jobs, reduce wages, and force families into a government run health care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor."
McCain then expressed empathy for American workers who are having a tough time.
"I know some of you have been left behind in the changing economy and it often seems your government hasn't even noticed," he said. "Government assistance for unemployed workers was designed for the economy of the 1950s. That's going to change on my watch. My opponent promises to bring back old jobs by wishing away the global economy. We're going to help workers who've lost a job that won't come back, find a new one that won't go away."
10:47 p.m.: The delegates eat up McCain's calls to reduce foreign aid and to drill for oil off U.S. shores. They produce two biggest cheers of the night -- other than, of course, the roar given after McCain's passage about Palin.
Here's the passage that set the delegates off:
"My fellow Americans, when I'm President, we're going to embark on the most ambitious national project in decades. We are going to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't like us very much. We will attack the problem on every front. We will produce more energy at home. We will drill new wells offshore, and we'll drill them now."
Delegates then began chanting, "Drill! Drill! Drill!"
10:52 p.m.: A pin drop could have been heard in the convention hall when McCain talked about war in very personal terms.
McCain himself seemed particularly assured when talking about his family's experience in wars. He put his rationale for his candidacy in plain terms.
"I'm running for President to keep the country I love safe, and prevent other families from risking their loved ones in war as my family has," he said.
10:54 p.m.: As McCain returned to his theme of bipartisanship, he made the harshest attack on Obama of his speech.
"Again and again, I've worked with members of both parties to fix problems that need to be fixed," McCain said. "That's how I will govern as President. I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again. I have that record and the scars to prove it. Sen. Obama does not."
11 p.m.: McCain, in a solemn tone, is spending the final part of his address retelling his time in captivity in Vietnam and talking about how that changed him.
"I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's. I loved it not just for the many comforts of life here," he said. "I loved it for its decency; for its faith in the wisdom, justice and goodness of its people. I loved it because it was not just a place, but an idea, a cause worth fighting for. I was never the same again. I wasn't my own man anymore. I was my country's."
Then he tweaked Obama.
"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 for as long as I draw breath, so help me God."
11:03 p.m.: McCain ends his speech by calling on Americans to serve.
"If you find faults with our country, make it a better one," he said.
He continued: "Our country will be the better, and you will be the happier. Because nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself."
Then he urged Americans to join him in his "fight," a word he used nine times in his speech coda. The delegates obliged, giving McCain a rousing standing ovation.
Here's how he ended it:
I'm going to fight for my cause every day as your President. I'm going to fight to make sure every American has every reason to thank God, as I thank Him: that I'm an American, a proud citizen of the greatest country on earth, and with hard work, strong faith and a little courage, great things are always within our reach. Fight with me. Fight with me.
Fight for what's right for our country. Fight for the ideals and character of a free people. Fight for our children's future. Fight for justice and opportunity for all. Stand up to defend our country from its enemies. Stand up for each other; for beautiful, blessed, bountiful America.
Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. Nothing is inevitable here. We're Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.
11:07 p.m.: McCain's wife, Palin and the two candidates' families join McCain on stage. Then the balloon drop comes.
The music blaring in the background is "Barracuda" by Heart. It's a reference to the high school nickname of Palin, deemed by pundits to be the star of the convention as soon as she finished her rabble-rousing speech Wednesday night.
The chorus: "You'd have me down down down down on my knees. Now wouldn't you, barracuda?"
We'll find out whether Democrats end up that way in 60 days, when Election Day, Nov. 4, arrives.
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That wraps up The Briefing Room's liveblog of the final night of the GOP convention.
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