Waiting for Palin

I’m now in the BBC suite in St Paul stadium with my former Spectator colleague Emily Maitlis. She’s off air and we’re all waiting for Sarah Palin – I’m due to do a Five Live phone-in on whether her personal life is fair game but the tennis may displace us. Both CNN and Fox are running Cape Canaveral-style countdowns to Palin’s big speech – which must surely rate as the most important at an American convention for years. It will have none of the theatre of Obama’s stadium speech, which everyone knew would be good. More is at stake now because if she fluffs it could well be terminal. Delegates here are fired up, convinced the left – as broadly defined – is coming after her with sexist and dirty jibes. The Republicans have whipped this one up to perfection, and Obama dare not attack Palin now, lest it adds credence to McCain’s claims of foul play.