Josh Turner, chairman of the White County Republican Party, said Thursday he was anxiously awaiting Sen. John McCain’s speech Thursday, but was still running on adrenaline from Wednesday night.

"The excitement in the (Xcel Energy Center) was simply amazing," he said. "Last week during the Democratic Convention, all we heard about was how terrible the Republicans were. For the first time during the convention, the Republicans started fighting back."

Session one and two of the convention were more somber, as Republicans were concerned for the safety and wellbeing of those living on the Gulf Coast who were affected by Hurricane Gustav, Turner said. However, things kicked into high gear Wednesday.

"Gov. Palin rocked the crowd and had everyone on the edge of their seats. She made her case of experience and compared the McCain/Palin ticket to the Obama/Biden ticket," Turner said.

McCain’s Thursday night speech included soft rebukes of his opponent and his own party and harsh words for the culture of Washington.

He claimed the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday night and promised that "change is coming" after eight years of the Bush Administration.
The address was much like the candidate: forceful and blunt-spoken, with little of Obama’s lyricism. McCain filled it with biography and calls for bipartisanship, hammering his convention theme of "country first" and jabbing Obama.