It’s late and the parties are raging across town. (Did not end up getting invited to the Google/Vanity Fair party.)

As I left the Xcel Center, I passed a fancy party sponsored by MSNBC, a liberal protester shouting down some…

Here’s what two of the states leading Republicans had to say about tonight’s acceptance speech by John McCain in St. Paul.

Gov. Matt Blunt:

John McCain tonight outlined his record of service and accomplishments in fighting to change and reform Washington. Unlike his…

Huckabee’s there. ‘Nuff said.

What stood out most, I think, was the admission that Republicans have been part of the failure in Washington, and the vow to fix that from within the party. The audience there wasn’t crazy about that part, but outside the…

Yes, it’s incorrect spelling. But that’s how it was on the big sign that one of the conventioneers just held up for the cameras. (First the lime-green background, and then this? The people running the stage show here really needed…

“I will reach out my hands to anyone, to get this country moving again.” This got some applause — but the subsequent jab at Obama got more.

Throughout the speech, he’s going back and forth between partisanship and bi-partisanship (Obama…

Blast from the past. “The brave people of Georgia need our solidarity and our prayers.”

Won’t lose any votes with that one, but what exactly does it mean?

So much for the cable-news predictions of a kinder, gentler speech.

This is dangerous territory, given the Democratic insistence that it’s a misrepresentation of Obama’s policies. Expect a lot of push-back to this line as soon as the post-speech analysis…

Intriguing approach: Admitting Republican failures lately, and vowing to “get back to basics.” Dangerous strategy, but maybe necessary, given current events.

Here is the latest word cloud by Post-Dispatch designer Erica Smith of tonight’s John McCain speech, followed by her previous clusters.

Barack Obama

Joe Biden

Sarah Palin