McCain the speechmaker - a scouting report

Observer political reporter Mark Johnson has logged countless miles following John McCain on the campaign trail. As McCain prepares to accept the Republican nomination later tonight, we caught up with Mark for an analysis of McCain the speaker, what the nominee might say, and whether his VP pick has smoothed the way.

(Excerpts from the speech, released by the campaign earlier tonight.)

The Ballot: Give us a scouting report on McCain as a speechmaker.

Johnson: As Austin Powers might say, speeches aren't his bag. I've seen him in Washington and on the campaign trail in New Hampshire and South Carolina. He's very accessible and gives the sense that he's close to the crowd, but his delivery is very workman-like.

A now legendarily bad 2008 appearance in Kenner, La., is on YouTube. He seems to eschew teleprompters, tends to look down too much and just can't match a Reagan or Clinton
delivery. (He's an Abba fan, and when he left the stage on primary night in South Carolina, "Take A Chance on Me" blared out of the speakers, which might not be a lot of folks' first choice of music to inspire confidence.)

The Ballot: What do you expect to see from him tonight?

Johnson: We might hear a personal side of his war experience. We've all heard about the torture and solitary confinement from others, but nothing could be as powerful as his retelling. He may try to sketch out an economic vision to reassure voters who wonder how he'll fix things. And a likely bet is that he'll try to grab back the change mantra. His reputation is as the buck-the-system senator, and he'll likely push that to argue he's the one who can truly rattle Washington.

The Ballot: The convention already was energized with his pick of Sarah Palin for VP. How has it changed since her speech last night? Does that insulate McCain, even if he delivers
a clunker?

Johnson: Palin very much rocked the house. Her record reassured the conservative base, and her delivery pumped up anybody who was a little nervous about whether she was ready for political Broadway. That doesn't insulate him if we see Louisiana part deux, but it sure smoothed out his entrance. He doesn't have to make up any ground.