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Paul Ryan with his children Liza and Charlie today during a sound check before the Republican National Convention in Tampa. Photograph: Charlie Neibergall/AP
And it's the big finish:
We can get this country working again. We can get this economy growing again. We can make the safety net safe again. We can do this.Whatever your political party, let's come together for the sake of our country. Join Mitt Romney and me. Let's give this effort everything we have. Let's see this through all the way. Let's get this done.
Really? That's the big finish? "Let's give this effort everything we have."
Obviously there's huge applause and a standing ovation, but the atmosphere only last a few minutes, and the crowd files out quietly.
Quick response? Kind of boring, neither one thing nor the other. I think it relied on the listener understanding Ryan's references, and it may not have made not have sense to the uninitiated.
Right, that's it. Tomorrow night's the big night, Mitt Romney. Good evening from Tampa.
Paul Ryan waves with his family after his speech. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Updated at 04:13 BST
Oops, let's not forget Paul Ryan's hilarious music-based joke here:
We're a full generation apart, Governor Romney and I. And, in some ways, we're a little different. There are the songs on his iPod, which I've heard on the campaign bus and on many hotel elevators. He actually urged me to play some of these songs at campaign rallies. I said, I hope it's not a deal-breaker Mitt, but my playlist starts with AC/DC, and ends with Zeppelin.
Ooh get you Paul Ryan.
Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin on stage in 1976. Paul's fave. Photograph: Rex
Updated at 04:05 BST
Paul Ryan manages to talk up Mitt Romney's business career, without of course mentioning the words Bain Capital.
And Ryan play the Olympics card, or rather overplays it:
He turned around the Olympics at a time when a great institution was collapsing under the weight of bad management, overspending, and corruption — sounds familiar, doesn't it?
Hmm, well it wasn't the Olympics that was collapsing, it was the 2002 Salt Lake City organising committee that was in trouble, which is hardly the same thing.
Another big round of applause for this line:
College graduates should not have to live out their 20s in their childhood bedrooms, staring up at fading Obama posters and wondering when they can move out and get going with life.
Is that designed to appeal to the graduates, or the parents?
This is another keynote speech that doesn't actually mention the GOP nominee, Mitt Romney, all that much.
Could it be that the Romney campaign's focus grouping and polling has suggested that Romney's unfavourable personal ratings mean that it's best not to mention him? That would explain it, given that the Romney people vet and - in this case - write all of these speeches.
My Dad used to say to me: "Son. You have a choice: You can be part of the problem, or you can be part of the solution."
So that's where that comes from. I always wondered.
Standing ovation for Paul Ryan's mum, which is nice.
The mother of Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan waves as his son Charlie looks on at the Republican national convention. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 03:58 BST
Huge cheer on the floor, followed by a standing ovation, for this line of Ryan's:
Ladies and gentlemen, these past four years we have suffered no shortage of words in the White House. What's missing is leadership in the White House.
That won't end up in any books of quotations, one suspects.
If you want to read the whole thing, the prepared text of Paul Ryan's RNC speech is here.
Updated at 03:46 BST
Jonathan Freeland is out on the floor with the delegates. "Ryan looks very nervous," he emails. "Has the dry mouth of an anxious speaker."
Ryan is warming up, though, and giving it a bit more zing, although with some odd constructions along the way:
It began with a housing crisis they didn't cause. It ends with a housing crisis they didn't correct.
I have no idea in what universe that is meant to be a brutal attack line.
Updated at 03:48 BST
A little thought from Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland on the tone of tonight's speeches:
Given that Obama remains personally well-liked -- his personal ratings substantially ahead of Romney's -- I wonder if Americans watching this constant assault on the president might eventually find it grating. Pawlenty's quip about the presidency being Obama's first job is an example: it's little more than an insult and plenty of independents and others won't like it.
Is it too late to dump Paul Ryan for Susana Martinez? Mitt, you've got about 15 minutes before Ryan finishes speaking. Quick text, change of plans, terribly sorry old boy.
Oh look there's some protesters in the stands. They have a large pink banner that says "vagina" on it, I think. Or possibly "Virginia". Probably vagina, right.
The crowd chanted "U-S-A!" and that has got them more wired than anything Ryan has said so far.
Paul Ryan is wearing the "Barack Obama, you've let us down" sad face. He's very, very disappointed.
Come on man, let's get this party started. But no, says Paul Ryan, first let's have a boring history lesson zzzz.
I miss Sarah Palin.
Republican vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan accepts the nomination as he addresses delegates at the Republican national convention. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters
Updated at 03:38 BST
As Paul Ryan starts speaking, I can't help thinking back to the same night (a week or so), when Sarah Palin took the stage in St Paul. That was electric. People say that Ryan has got the party excited but the atmosphere is not a patch on 2008.
Still, look what happened to the Republicans that year.
And suddenly, it's Paul Ryan.
And suddenly, a white guy seems a bit milquetoast after the last two speakers.
Susana Martinez is the first female Hispanic governor in US history, and she begins by telling the crowd: En America, todo is posible.
Predictably, Martinez tells the story of her hardscrabble upbringing, parents and so on. But two interesting things then happen: one is how Martinez brings the crowd to its feet with how she had to work for her parent's security firm while carrying a .357 Magnum that weighed as much as she did.
Then she relates how she got into politics and how she converted to the Republican party, after lunch with a couple of Republicans with her husband, Chuck:
When we got back in the car, I looked back over at Chuck and said, I'll be damned, we're Republicans.
She's good, very good. I hate to compare a woman politician to Margaret Thatcher because it sounds glib, but Martinez has a Thatcher-like delivery and edge.
Martinez/Haley 2016 - now there's a ticket Republicans.
Condi is followed by Susana Martinez, the live-wire governor of New Mexico, elected in 2010 and like so many others, mentioned as a VP candidate for Mitt Romney.
New Mexico governor Susana Martinez. Photograph: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Updated at 03:31 BST
This is certainly the best speech of the night - and never mind that this sets a very low bar - by Rice, who ends with a ringing peroration, delving into her background growing up in segregated Alabama and rising to be secretary of state.
She's speaking far more confidently now. No texting on the floor now.
Huge applause.
Now Condi have moved away from the boring foreign policy stuff and on to the politics of personal betterment. And now she's getting the crowd on its feet and speaking more fluently:
We have never believed that I am doing poorly because you are doing well.
The floor is now filling up as delegates wait for Tim Ryan to appear. There are still quite a few empty seats in the upper tiers. Now that never happened with Sarah Palin, eh?
Condoleezza Rice is normally a fluent speaker but sounds nervous hear tonight, possibly because she's uncomfortable reading off of an autocue.
"We are abandoning the field of free and fair trade, and it will come back to haunt us," she warns while giving a speech for a candidate who wants to label China a currency manipulator and start a trade war on day one of his presidency.
The Atlantic's Molly Ball has more on the walkout by Ron Paul supportersearlier this evening:
As the Paulites filed out of the convention hall, Romney delegates watched them go, displaying more relief than angst. "Go home!" one man called, while another chuckled, "Looks like we'll have more elbow room on the floor now!"
Now we're getting to the business end. Here's the last speaker but one scheduled before Paul Ryan – it's former US secretary of stateCondoleezza Rice.
She starts with a mention of the dark days of 9/11 – although without mentioning He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Or indeed any countries beginning with A and ending in -fghanistan.
It's former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP
Updated at 03:15 BST
My colleague Paul Harris has written about the noisy dissent staged by Ron Paul supporters and Maine delegates for the second day running over the failure of a 'delegate strategy' to nominate the Texas congressman:
As the convention prepared to listen to Romney's running mate Paul Ryan speak, a group of Maine delegates walked out of the convention hall in protest at their treatment. Shouting "Ron Paul! Ron Paul!" they marched through the convention hall, engaging in fierce arguments with Romney supporters.Video of the moment quickly circulated on Twitter and showed Paul backers and Romney fans trying to drown each other out with chants. Some Paul fans shouted "This convention is a farce" and "Shame on them." Others sang: "As Maine goes, so goes the nation."Though the fight over Paul's supporters is a sideshow that has little real impact on the Romney team, it is no doubt an unwelcome distraction as the campaign seeks to present a united party to the nation and paint Romney as a sympathetic, warm president-in-waiting.
Mike Huckabee is doing his best to win over the evangelical vote for Mitt Romney, a reminder that there may be some Christian conservatives who remain unhappy at voting for a Mormon.
"I care far less about where Mitt Romney takes his family to church than about where he takes this country," is Huckabee's clever line.
Huckabee gets the biggest cheer of the night when he wraps up. But just to make sure the drops of enthusiasm are drained from the crowd, there's some recorded music being played. Awesome.
Even Mike Huckabee, easily one of the most natural speakers in American politics, has been neutered here by the demands of having to read a speech that conforms to Mitt Romney's campaign requirements.
"The press will tell you (Mitt Romney's) not perfect but we tried the one that the press thought was perfect," says Huckabee.
Former governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee tries to squeeze some life into the Republican national convention. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP
Updated at 02:54 BST
My Guardian colleague Ewen MacAskill is down on the floor at the RNC in Tampa - and he's deeply unimpressed with tonight's festivities:
It is one of the most lifeless conventions/conferences I have ever attended. Speaker after speaker at the Republican convention is coming over as flat: not just uninspiring but outright boring. Maybe, Romney has stamped his personality on the convention. The explanation may partly be lack of reaction from the stadium. There are about 1,000 Republicans crammed into the floor space in front of the platform and thousands more filling the seats round about. But there is no energy, no feedback. They are milling about, chatting to one another, generally ignoring the speakers. There is little of the raucous scenes that US conventions are normally associated with, the wild, placard-waving hordes. Maybe they are saving themselves for Paul Ryan or even Romney tomorrow.
We can but hope.
Tim Pawlenty has his big finish: "With any luck, Barack Obama will be out of the White House." Luck?
Our intrepid Adam Gabbatt has run into a familiar face: Georgia delegate Ginger Howard, who told him last time they met that Rick Perry would be the Republican nominee. Here's what she had to say for herself:
Updated at 02:39 BST
With material like this, Tim Pawlenty should go into television. Head first, preferably.
President Obama's failed. But that's understandable, because a lot of people fail at their first job.
Nurse, fetch me a stapler, because my bleedin' sides have split.
Another musical interlude there. I've been to funerals with a more upbeat message than this. And with a more animated guest of honour.
But lo! Here's Tim Pawlenty, who promises us "Barack Obama's retirement party". He looks very pleased with himself.
"President Obama isn't as bad as people say. He's worse," says Pawlenty, who seems to be running through his repertoire of GOP humour from A to B.
Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty is talking to you. Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Updated at 02:36 BST
Believe it or not, people were actually punting Luis Fortuño as a possible VP pick earlier this year, including an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal.
Fortuño is a better speaker than most of those who have appeared here, but the delegates on the floor aren't even bothering to feign interest by this point.
And now, give it up for Luis Fortuño, governor of Puerto Rico! A few people do.
There's a suggestion that tonight's RNC programme feels thin because Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal - who was scheduled to speak here tonight - opted to stay home in his state because of Hurricane Isaac. That seems sensible.
Updated at 02:20 BST
And there was Rob Portman, another senator and another vice presidential hopeful, speaking words that were formed into sentences and, ultimately, paragraphs. I think that sums it up.
Meanwhile, out on the terrace there appears to be just as many delegates as on the floor.
Now there's another man billed on the giant screens as "small businessman". He appears to be slightly below average height so that seems a little harsh.
Ohio senator and non-vice-presidential candidate Rob Portman. Photograph: Charles Dharapak/AP
Updated at 02:19 BST
Meanwhile... our colorful colleague Adam Gabbatt has some more color from the floor of the RNC:
Mooching around the floor of the forum there's a lot of excitement about Paul Ryan's speech at the end of the night. One of the more excited isSarah Courtney from Wisconsin, who at 20 years old is a "huge fan" of her state-mate, so much so that she has invested in a Paul Ryan mask.
Sarah Courtney, from Wisconsin, has a Paul Ryan mask. She is a "huge fan" & is looking forward to Ryan fixing budgetpic.twitter.com/YSwfdKy7
"When Mitt Romney chose Ryan it showed he had had courage and is courageous, because Paul Ryan is actually going to do something in Washington."
Asked what Ryan will do in the capital, Courtney thrust her arm towards the giant debt clock in the left of the room, which measures the money borrowed since the convention began.
"I think he's going to fix that budget," she said. "And he's going to do it by not increasing taxes."
Updated at 01:53 BST
More schedule shenanigans: there's another "live" vox pop interview with a small business owner from the floor, followed by another musical break, live singing this time. What's up here?
I wonder if there is something up with the schedule here tonight. First, the Bush video tribute was pushed forward an hour and a half. Then there was a really long musical interlude. And then a Red Cross appeal for Hurricane Isaac victims.
Now a "reporter" is doing a live interview from the floor of the convention with an immigrant from India. Filler? Making room for a mystery guest later?
Strange, and it's not exactly keeping the delegates in a frenzy. Unless you count a frenzy of texting and hotdog eating.
Next up is South Dakota senator John Thune, who kicks off with questions people have asked him about President Obama: "Do you think you could take him one on one?" Ahem.
Anyway, this is merely a pause before Thune explains how his grandfather arrived ... boat ... penniless ... no English ... etc. And he built something, not the government, and so on.
Thune was thought to be a presidential contender back in 2010. On the basis of this speech, maybe it's not so bad that he isn't.
Senator John Thune takes his turn to speak . Photograph: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Updated at 01:47 BST
Now here's Florida attorney general Pam Bondi, the woman tipped as the next Sarah Palin.
She and another guy are banging on about the horrors of Obamacare, and even that fails to really stir the crowd, many of whom are taking the opportunity to sit outside on the terrace eating hotdogs.
Anyway, after some shrill attacks, Bondi manages to swallow her big crescendo, so that her ringing call for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to be elected gets completely lost on the crowd, and ends in just a smattering of applause and an air of puzzlement.
Florida attorney general Pam Bondi and a thrilled Georgia attorney general Sam Olens. Photograph: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Updated at 01:39 BST
My colleague Ewen MacAskill has been talking to delegates on the convention floor again to take the temperature of the room.
Toni Anne Dashiell, 58, a delegate from the Texas Hill Country, where LBJ was brought up, was wowed by Ann Romney on Tuesday night.
"I thought she really talked to women. She is a woman who has lived it all and I am pleased she will be the next First Lady." Dashiell, who co-wrote 'Reading for Freedom: Leadership Skills for Republicans', a practical guide and motivational tome published this summer, was watching senator Rand Paul, given a speaking slot at the convention, a pay-off for his father Ron's stubborn challenge for the nomination earlier this year.
Rand Paul is heir-apparent, ready to take over leadership of the libertarian wing of the Republican party from his father. Dashiell said she supported Rand Paul on many issues.
"We believe in many things. I do not agree with him on everything. I don't agree with my husband on everything. I agree with Rand Paul on about 80% to 90% of things. I disagree with him on foreign policy."
She expressed confidence that Mitt Romney would deliver a strong speech tomorrow night. "He is not an orator like Obama but I believe in what he says and that is more important than being the best speaker."
Updated at 01:28 BST
Another word for the drinking game:
Bain Capital
Even Ann Romney couldn't bring herself to mention it last night. She called it "his business".
"I trust Mitt Romney," says John McCain. Mind you, he thought Sarah Palin would make an excellent president, so there's that.
John McCain is getting a pretty tepid response here, with just loud cheers from the Arizona and not much from anyone else. Perfunctory stuff, possibly because few of the delegates have much regard for John McCain, who hasn't yet entered the harmless-cuddly-elder-statesman phase.
Mind you, with speech writing such as "Always, we have led from the front, never from behind" and "America must be on the right side of history," perhaps it's no wonder.
"People [around the world] don't want less of America, they want more," says John McCain, God alone knows what that means.
Oh lord it's John McCain. That may leave a few of those doing the drinking game under the table. Let's see... can McCain make it through a speech without getting into Afghanistan and Iraq?
Senator John McCain takes the stage. Photograph: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Updated at 01:07 BST
Drinking game time!
Drink if you hear the following words or phrases:
George W BushDick CheneyIraqAfghanistanAl-QaidaOsama bin LadenSarah Palin
Last night with that list you would have made it through to the end of proceedings stone-cold sober.
As soon as I type that, Janine McDonnell, daughter of Bob the Virginia Governor and an Iraq war veteran, mentions both Iraq andAfghanistan.
A change to the schedule now: there's a video tribute to "41 and 43" - meaning presidents George HW and George W Bush. This was meant to be in primetime after 9pm, but it seems to have, ahem, got pushed back somewhat.
Well this makes a change from last night when not a single one of the 158 speakers remembered that George Bush had been president.
Which reminds me, time for a drinking game, yes?
"There's no doubt in our mind that Mitt Romney would be a great president," says George W Bush. But can we think of other things when there has been "no doubt" in George W Bush's mind? WMDs anyone? At least this time, Mitt Romney exists.
Updated at 01:03 BST
Big applause for this line from Rand Paul: "We must never trade our liberty for any fleeting promise of security."
I'm not sure the delegates on the floor know exactly what they are clapping there. It may not mean what they think it does.
Rand Paul speaks in front of a patriotic man at the Republican national convention. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Updated at 00:54 BST
Rand Paul says his grandfather "even lived to see a certain congressman from Texas [huge cheers] run to be American president." Oooh, a certain congressman?
Anyway, Rand P has now talked about two Asian families who went out there and "built that" all by themselves.
Rand's also not happy about the debt. "Republicans must acknowledge that not every dollar spent on the military is necessary or well spent," says Rand. Bit controversial but it gets modest applause.
Good evening, and we are live on the floor of the Tampa Times Forum, centre of the Republican universe and the Republican National Convention.
And right off the bat, here's Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.
And Senator Paul is riffing on Obamacare, calling it a "travesty of justice". After he heard the Supreme Court ruling on the healthcare reforms, "I still thought it was unconstitutional," says Paul. And you'd be wrong, Rand Paul, since the Supreme Court decides such matters. Bummer, eh?
The crowd loved that - but it doesn't take long and we're back on the "You didn't build that" nonsense of last night. A second night predicated on a falsely edited soundbite? Yes, it seems so.
And guess what? Rand Paul's grandfather arrived in America with no money and so on and so on.
Senator Rand Paul speaks during the third day of the Republican national convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Wednesday. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Updated at 00:41 BST
Barack Obama's "Ask Me Anything" Q&A on Reddit today contained at least one bombshell from the handful of questions he answered: floating the possibility of a constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United court ruling that has allowed the rise of the super pac and unlimited funds for political advertising.
Here's Obama's answer on Reddit:
Question: What are you going to do to end the corrupting influence of money in politics during your second term?Obama: Money has always been a factor in politics, but we are seeing something new in the no-holds barred flow of seven and eight figure checks, most undisclosed, into super-pacs; they fundamentally threaten to overwhelm the political process over the long run and drown out the voices of ordinary citizens. We need to start with passing the Disclose Act that is already written and been sponsored in Congress - to at least force disclosure of who is giving to who. We should also pass legislation prohibiting the bundling of campaign contributions from lobbyists. Over the longer term, I think we need to seriously consider mobilizing a constitutional amendment process to overturn Citizens United (assuming the Supreme Court doesn't revisit it). Even if the amendment process falls short, it can shine a spotlight of the super-PAC phenomenon and help apply pressure for change.
The key phrase there is: "I think we need to seriously consider mobilizing a constitutional amendment process to overturn Citizens United (assuming the Supreme Court doesn't revisit it)." Since that would be an amendment to the First Amendment, one of the most cherished parts of the Bill of Rights, the chances of that happening are somewhere between zero and nil.
In fact just mentioning it will probably get a few people riled up.
Here's the Guardian's round-up of Obama's AMA, and Slate has a piece with all his answers on Reddit today.
Updated at 00:32 BST
It might seem puzzling but the Democratic party is unleashing a barrage of anti-Romney/Ryan advertising in Tampa, currently home to more die-hard Republicans than the NRA. Politico reports:
The offensive includes a full-page ad Wednesday in the Tampa Tribune and billboards on the interstate heading into Tampa and across from the Forum where delegates are convening. The topper is an airplane, due to circle the city beginning at noon, dragging a banner that reads, "Romney-Ryan: Wrong for the Middle Class."
Waste of money, hmm? Not when you remember that Hillsborough county, where Tampa sits, is the swing-ing-ist county in the swing-ing-ist state in the country. Whoever wins Tampa and its suburbs wins Florida, and whoever wins Florida wins the presidency (maybe!). Hence the Democrats are really aiming at local voters to ensure that the GOP ticket doesn't get a week's free-ride while the RNC is on.
The Guardian's Paul Harris went along to a fringe event in Tampa - fringe in the sense of the Edinburgh Festival, not politically - this morning featuring two presidential offspring: Chelsea Clinton and George P Bush, son of Jeb Bush and so grandson of George HW.
Sadly the pair weren't debating each other, just tangentially appearing at the same time in a forum on young people and politics that naturally attracted about a zillion journalists:
Chelsea Clinton, in her latest guise as a television journalist, instead was a moderator asking trademark softball questions to guests like “Do you think there is a role for technology here?” and “Why are young people not
registering (to vote) in greater numbers?”.Meanwhile George P. Bush expressed his love for Texas high school football, his fondness for the odd session of computer gaming and the fact he was not in favour of mandatory national service for young people (not much surprise there).The pair only briefly shared the same stage and had no interaction except when Chelsea heaped praise on Bush’s answers in a previous session saying he had had dealt with them “so eloquently”. It looks like the Bush v Clinton feud is on hold among the young folks.
Updated at 23:19 BST
Here's the extracts from Paul Ryan's speech this evening that the RNC has just released:
I accept the calling of my generation to give our children the America that was given to us, with opportunity for the young and security for the old – and I know that we are ready. Our nominee is sure ready. His whole life has prepared him for this moment – to meet serious challenges in a serious way, without excuses and idle words. After four years of getting the run-around, America needs a turnaround, and the man for the job is Governor Mitt Romney.….Obamacare comes to more than two thousand pages of rules, mandates, taxes, fees, and fines that have no place in a free country. The president has declared that the debate over government-controlled health care is over. That will come as news to the millions of Americans who will elect Mitt Romney so we can repeal Obamacare.…...We have a plan for a stronger middle class, with the goal of generating 12 million new jobs over the next four years.….My Dad used to say to me: ‘Son. You have a choice: You can be part of the problem, or you can be part of the solution.’ The present administration has made its choices. And Mitt Romney and I have made ours: Before the math and the momentum overwhelm us all, we are going to solve this nation’s economic problems. And I’m going to level with you: We don’t have that much time. But if we are serious, and smart, and we lead, we can do this.….The right that makes all the difference now is the right to choose our own leaders. You are entitled to the clearest possible choice because the time for choosing is drawing near. So here is our pledge. We will not duck the tough issues – we will lead. We will not spend four years blaming others – we will take responsibility. We will not try to replace our founding principles, we will reapply our founding principles. The work ahead will be hard. These times demand the best of us – all of us, but we can do this. Together, we can do this.
This is interesting and weird: Fox News have yanked Sarah Palin's scheduled appearances on the channel tonight during the Republican National Convention.
Palin herself is unhappy, and let us all know via her Facebook page:
I’m sorry Fox cancelled all my scheduled interviews tonight because I sure wanted to take the opportunity on the air to highlight Senator John McCain’s positive contributions to America, to honor him, and to reflect on what a biased media unfairly put him through four years ago tonight. Granted, our honored and esteemed war hero has gone through much more than the liberal media can ever do to him in their efforts to harm this patriot. I look forward to hearing his words to his fellow Americans tonight more than any of the other convention speeches. God bless John McCain. Thank you for everything. And happy birthday, my friend.
Now, what's that all about? Did the Romney campaign "suggest" to Fox News that Palin wasn't the acceptable face of the Republican party it wanted on screen during peak viewing hours? Tonight being the night that Paul Ryan makes his big debut as VP, as Palin did four years ago. That's my entirely unsourced conspiracy theory and I'm sticking to it.
Updated at 23:01 BST
Latinos and Hispanics are the other bloc of potential voters that the Republican party is finding hard to win over. As the RNC features a line-up of Latino Republicans, my colleague Gary Younge points out this snippet:
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a leading Latino Democrat, was scathing in his criticism of the GOP’s outreach efforts. “You can’t just trot out a brown face or a Spanish surname and expect people are going to vote for your party or your candidate,” Villaraigosa told reporters Tuesday. “Window dressing doesn’t do much for a candidate. It’s your policies, your platform. This is a party with a platform that calls for the self-deportation of 11 million people.”
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval speaks during the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The Republicans were quick to have Senator Marco Rubio respond in Florida - and Rubio surprisingly had some agreement with the Democratic mayor:
Rubio said he agreed with Villaraigosa but added that the issue was not solely a Republican one. "I think what he's saying, quite frankly, is true for both parties," Rubio said. "Policies matter and, look, the Republican Part does have a challenge. We can't just be the anti-illegal immigration party, we have to be the pro-legal immigration party."
Which is interesting because the Romney campaign had a totally different reaction, with Romney campaign senior adviser Danny Diaz calling Villaraigosa's comments "divisive" and designed to distract voters from the economy.
Updated at 22:53 BST
Have Republicans written off the black vote? The Guardian's Paul Harris has talked to GOP-supporting African-Americans here in Tampa:
Many black Republican activists, however, insist that the dream of winning over large numbers of black voters is not a forlorn one. They point out that the social conservatism of many leading black churches on key issues like abortion and gay marriage should be incompatible with the liberal stances of the Democratic party. "They [the Republican party] may not see the opportunity, but there is an opening there," said the reverend CL Bryant, a conservative pastor.
Updated at 22:36 BST
If you haven't read it already, the Guardian's Ana Marie Cox has an excellent discussion piece on Republican women and abortion that is well worth a read.
Ann Romney speaking last night at the RNC. Photograph: KeystoneUSA-ZUMA / Rex Features
Updated at 22:37 BST
The big story of the day so far - it's early days - is that Mitt Romney hates America. How can we tell? Not only does he send lots of his own money to rest in a Caymans Island bank account, he also holds parties on a yacht registered in the Cayman Islands.
It's not Romney's own yacht - which would make this more exciting - but it's the plaything of a friendly wealthy donor and fundraiser who happened to be visiting Tampa. How convenient. Here's ABC News, which broke what no-one is dubbing "yacht-flag-gate":
Governor Mitt Romney's campaign toasted its top donors Wednesday aboard a 150-foot yacht flying the flag of the Cayman Islands.The floating party, hosted by a Florida developer on his yacht Cracker Bay, was one of a dozen exclusive events meant to nurture those who have raised more than $1 million for Romney's bid."I think it's ironic they do this aboard a yacht that doesn't even pay its taxes," said a woman who lives aboard a much smaller boat moored at the St Petersburg Municipal Marina.
Oh no! A "much smaller boat"? Also, that's not really irony, except in anAlanis Morissette sense.
Updated at 22:12 BST
I'd be posting some of Barack Obama's responses to Reddit readers but the website appears to have collapsed under the strain. Oh dear. Well, we'll come back later.
Reddit overload page Photograph: Reddit
"Hi, I’m Barack Obama, President of the United States," is the disarming start of Barack Obama's AMA - aka Ask Me Anything - on Reddit. "Ask me anything. I’ll be taking your questions for half an hour starting at about 4:30 ET."
Photographic evidence of President Barack Obama doing a Reddit AMA
You can follow along here.
Updated at 21:54 BST
It's the difficult second day of the Republican National Convention in Tampa. After the excitement - if that is the right word (it isn't) - of Ann Romney last night, tonight sees the GOP vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan take the stage here.
For the Wisconsin congressman it will be his first, crucial introduction to a national audience at around 10pm ET (3am BST), one that could make or break (cf: Palin, Sarah) Mitt Romney's fortunes in November.
We'll have all the reaction to last night's speeches, a look forward at tonight's speakers from the Guardian's crack team, and coverage ofPresident Obama's AMA [Ask Me Anything] taking place shortly on the social news site Reddit.
We'll be live-blogging the night all the way through to the final gavel at the Tampa Times Forum tonight, so stick around. Also, jokes.
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