McCain to detail presidency goals
John McCain is to set out his vision for the US presidency at the Republican convention, after being chosen as his party's candidate for the White House.
The Arizona senator will take the stage later in St Paul, Minnesota, to formally accept his candidacy.
He will address a newly energised convention, lifted by a widely-praised speech by his surprise choice for vice-president, Sarah Palin.
She mixed praise for Mr McCain with stinging attacks against Barack Obama.
In a rousing speech which delighted the convention, Mrs Palin attacked the Democratic presidential nominee as having talked of change, but done nothing of substance.
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She accused him of being more interested in high flown speech-making than acting for real Americans, while she would challenge the status quo and work for the common good.
The BBC's Jonathan Beale, in Minnesota, says John McCain now has to switch the focus from Sarah Palin to himself - although she may have helped to do that as Mr McCain and the party believe they have now been vindicated in their selection of the Alaskan governor.
Mr McCain's much-anticipated speech, scheduled for 2030 (0230 GMT), will bring to a close the party's four-day event.
Our correspondent says Mr McCain will have to underline his policy proposals and flesh out what he would do differently from a Bush administration.
Smooth delivery
John McCain acknowledged as much when discussing his speech in an interview on US television on Wednesday.
"The important thing right now is to tell Americans why I can restore our economy, get them affordable and available health care, a decent education, get these jobs back... and keep our nation secure," he told ABC News.
|   I wonder if the USA has found its Margaret Thatcher  BBC North America editor Justin Webb  |
He also said he would refrain from much direct criticism of Mr Obama, despite some harsh put-downs from his rival when addressing his own party convention in Denver last week.
With memories of Mr Obama's well-received address before 80,000 people at Invesco Field still fresh, Mr McCain will face inevitable comparisons.
Mr McCain has never been considered a great speaker, said one of his closest aides, Mark Salter, who added that his goal for Mr McCain was simply a smooth delivery.
'Turning point'
In a speech designed to rally the party base, Sarah Palin spoke of her family, including her elder son, who is about to be deployed to Iraq in the US Army, and her younger son, who has Down's Syndrome.
The mother-of-five highlighted her background as a small-town "average hockey mom" and stressed that she was not part of the "Washington elite".
Sarah Palin attacks Barack Obama's presidential campaign
In a salvo directed at media commentators who have questioned her qualifications, she said she was "not going to Washington to seek their good opinion" but to serve the people.
In the run-up to her appearance, media coverage of her suitability as a candidate focused on her inexperience in national politics, an uncompleted ethics inquiry into her conduct in Alaska, and the revelation that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter was pregnant.
Mrs Palin praised the "determination, resolve and sheer guts" of Mr McCain and said she was honoured to help him.
Mrs Palin also attacked Mr Obama's "change agenda" and suggested he was more interested in idealism and "high-flown speech-making" than acting for "real Americans".
"In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers," she said.
"And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change."
Former Governors Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee opened the night by hailing Mr McCain and attacking the Democrats.
Mr Romney lauded Mr McCain's national security credentials, saying he was the presidential contender who would defeat "evil" radical Islam.
Mr Huckabee, also a former rival of Mr McCain, described him as "a man with the character and stubborn kind of integrity that we need in a president".
President George W Bush has already strongly endorsed John McCain as the best man to succeed him in the White House.
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