As recently as 10 days ago, few political experts would have predicted that maverick Sen. John McCain would have been greeted with such joyous enthusiasm, even at a convention dedicated to promoting him.

But when McCain spoke Thursday night, on a stage reconfigured so he could be surrounded by the audience as he is in his beloved town hall meetings, the crowd that had been energized the night before by running mate Sarah Palin exploded into a frenzy of cheers and a sea of blue McCain-Palin signs.