ST. PAUL, Minn.--Historians always say that presidents are defined not by the things they plan to do in office but how they react to the things they never planned for. Here at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, John McCain just had a bit of a presidential moment.
Shortly after McCain stepped on stage to deliver his much-anticipated acceptance speech--in fact, right as he was saying, "I accept the nomination"--a pair of antiwar protestors began shouting and waving banners from the balcony right above Section 113, where much of the national press corps is seated. "Tell John McCain we can't win an occupation!" they chanted. "Why did John McCain vote against our vets!" As their words echoed throughout the hall, the entire floor turned toward the troublemakers. McCain, for his part, kept on going--and so did they. When the conventioneers realized that the activists weren't going to stop out of politeness, they took action, overwhelming the catcalls with a confrontational chorus of "USA! USA!" This call-and-response showdown recurred three or four times, often interrupting McCain mid-sentence. Finally, when another group of protesters cried out from the opposite end of the arena and another call of "USA!" went up from the crowd, McCain flashed a tense grin and leaned into the microphone.
"Please don't be distracted by the static and the ground noise," he said, referring to the sort of sounds that interrupt a fighter pilot's radio contact. "Americans want us to stop the yelling."
It probably didn't come across on television. But here in the hall, McCain's response--perhaps the only unscripted moment of the night--went over well. The convention let out its loudest roar of the week--and the protesters were swiftly escorted out of the building.
