Last night I saw Sarah Palin accept her party’s nomination for Vice President of the United States. I was sitting a couple of rows behind the VIP stand and watched as Palin’s family, the subject of intense media scrutiny (both fair and unfair), were seated and as they watched their mother, wife and daughter make history as the first woman on the GOP Presidential ticket.

Governor Palin’s family faces a phalanx of cameras

A riser (top-left) focuses their attention and telephoto lenses on Palin’s family.  At the time, the Governor of Hawaii was speaking on stage making introductory remarks about Sarah Palin.  Nobody seemed to notice.

and from above

Governor Palin accepts her party’s nomination for VPOTUS.

Senator John McCain joins Governor Palin and her family on stage after her speech.  Presidential candidates do not usually appear in person at a convention until the final day, but Obama broke with the orthodoxy and it came as no surprise that McCain showed up last night.

Here is Palin’s speech.

From the convention floor, a few observations for those watching the speech on television:

– Michigan delegates wore hockey jerseys emblazoned with “RNC”.  They chanted “hockey mom” at Sarah Palin during the speech.  Palin recognized them and seemed to integrate it as a point in her speech.

– At one point Palin emphasized that regular folks will decide who becomes President of the United States and not the media elite.  A few in the crowd stated chanting “N-B-C” and much of the convention joined in.