He took the stage to raucous applause and chants of "USA, USA."

Republican nominee John McCain takes the stage to rapturous applause

"Let there be no doubt my friends, we're going to win this election!" he told the crowd.

Guards have removed at least one protester.

A female protester, center, is forced to leave after disrupting McCain's speech.

—Jim Miller
jmiller@PE.com

Cindy McCain, the candidate's wife, warmed up the crowd beforehand.

"Americans who want straight talk and plain truth should take a good strong look at John McCain," Cindy McCain said after introducing the couple's children.

The RNC crowd cheers as Cindy McCain speaks Thursday evening.

John McCain is scheduled to speak within minutes.

—Jim Miller
jmiller@PE.com

This week at the Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities, pollster Frank Luntz said the youth vote this fall would be overwhelmingly Democratic.

"I have to tell you something: The 18-to-24 (year old) vote is going to be worse for the GOP than it ever has been," Luntz told California delegates during a "Bloody Mary" brunch on Tuesday.

"That's why we have to organize. I'm going to tell you where the swing voters are: 40 to 59 years old. Middle age, middle income, a mid-America mentality, slightly more women than men," said Luntz, a GOP pollster and Fox News commentator.

—Jim Miller
jmiller@PE.com

They could take any of the cinematic masterpieces starring the event's main sponsor, Gov. Schwarzenegger. Most popular with the crowd seemed to be entries in the "Terminator" franchise. Less so, "Twins" and "Around the World in 80 Days."

Schwarzenegger, who has jokingly referred to his failure to to win an Academy Award, didn't make it to his own party or any of this week's events for the Republican National Convention. He stayed back in California because of the state's lack of a budget more than nine weeks into the new fiscal year.

—Jim Miller
jmiller@PE.com

Orange County Assemblyman Van Tran has been here since the weekend. This afternoon, state Sen. Dick Ackerman, R-Irvine, and Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, arrived.

Earlier this month, Gov. Schwarzenegger said he thought lawmakers should stay in Sacramento until they passed a budget, now more than two months late.

Several Democratic lawmakers were in Denver last week for parts of that party's gathering.

Garcia, a delegate, said she can be back in the capital within three hours if legislative leaders reach a deal.

"Whether I'm at the convention, on vacation, or taking the kids to school, I have no reason to be in Sacramento unless there's a budget to vote on," Garcia said in the lobby of the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel, where the California delegation is staying.

—Jim Miller
bgoad@PE.com

"The audacity he's offering us, frankly, is socialism," Wilson, a one-time presidential aspirant himself, told several hundred cheering delegates, alternates, and guests gathered in a hotel ballroom near the Twin Cities.

Obama, of course, penned a book called the Audacity of Hope.

The importance of defeating Obama in November, Wilson added, rivals that of defeating Democrat Jimmy Carter's re-election bid in 1980s.

—Jim Miller
jmiller@PE.com

Genhart, of Palm Desert, said Sunday that the campaign of presidential candidate John McCain was correct to reduce Monday's convention schedule and leave open the possibility of scaling back events the rest of the week.

Still, he said, "It's kind of put a damper on things."

Monday's schedule truncation means delegates won't hear from President Buch, Vice President Cheney, First Lady Laura Bush and other speakers.

Richard Brimhall, an alternate delegate from Crestline, said, "Personally, I'm disappointed, but I totally back him 100 percent. We can't fool with Mother Nature."

Added Trung Nguyen of Garden Grove, "As a party, we should be concerned with more than just the partisan."

California delegates later attended a reception for Republican delegates at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The "Civic Fest" event featured political and historical memorabilia, including a replica of an Air Force One fuselage and the C-SPAN Campaign 2008 bus.

The monitor on the C-SPAN Campaign 2008 bus replayed parts of Democrat Barack Obama's nomination acceptance speech at Sunday's GOP delegate event.

—Jim Miller
jmiller@PE.com

Today's Press-Enterprise has coverage of Obama's history-making convention address.

The story is here.

We also visited Perris Hill Park in San Bernardino. Read that story here.

—Jim Miller
jmiller@PE.com

"I think the convention's going pretty well so far, don't you think?" Obama asked the crowd after joining Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden moments after the Delaware senator finished his primetime address.

Obama delivers his acceptance speech tomorrow night in a much bigger venue -- Invesco Field.

—Jim Miller
jmiller@PE.com

Clinton's job: warm up the crowd for Barack Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden.

And what could be warmer than Bill's southern twang?

"Ahh loooovvve Joe Biden," Clinton said, sparking another 30-second ovation.

For weeks, much has been reported about Clinton's anger at how he felt his wife had been mistreated by the media and the Obama campaign.

But there was little sign of that in tonight's speech. Last night, Hillary Rodham Clinton gave her own rousing call for Obama's candidacy.

"Hillary told us in no uncertain terms that she'll do everything she can to elect Barack Obama.

"That makes two of us."

—Ben Goad
Bgoad@PE.com

—Jim Miller
jmiller@PE.com