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ST. PAUL - Republican John McCain takes his turn at his big St. Paul party on Thursday to lay out why he should be elected U.S. president, after his No. 2, Sarah Palin, excited Republican loyalists with a speech that drew 37 million viewers.

For McCain, 72, it is the pinnacle of his career. The former Vietnam war prisoner, long considered by many a maverick in his party and distrusted by some in the conservative base, will receive the long-sought nomination to be his party's candidate in the Nov. 4 election.

In a speech scheduled for about 10:30 p.m. EDT (0230 GMT Friday) speech, McCain will discuss his military background and his long career in public service, pledge to work in a bipartisan way and draw a stark contrast between his vision of the future and that of Democratic rival Barack Obama.

Workers rebuilt the convention stage to resemble a "theater in the round" to enable McCain to appear in the kind of town-hall setting that he enjoys on the campaign trail.

McCain, joined by two senators from his inner circle, Democrat-turned-independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, visited the stage hours before his speech to get comfortable with the setting.

"John McCain will speak directly to the American people about his vision for reforming Washington, getting our economy back on track and securing the peace for the next generation," McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers said.

"He's obviously very excited, and after the address by Gov. Palin last night, we are having two mavericks at the top of the ticket," Rogers said.

Democrats begged to differ, charging that McCain offers more of the same policies as President George W. Bush. Democrats are trying to use Bush's unpopularity and Americans' desire for change as tools to defeat McCain.

Palin, the Alaska governor and McCain's vice presidential running mate, on Wednesday night electrified Republican delegates at the nominating convention with red-meat rhetoric against Obama and his running mate, veteran Sen. Joe Biden.

More than 37 million viewers tuned in to watch Palin's speech, just shy of the record set last Friday by Obama, whose acceptance address was seen by 38.4 million, Nielsen Media Research reported.

Obama, speaking to reporters, shot back at Palin for saying that being mayor of tiny Wasilla, Alaska, was a little like Obama's service as a community organizer in Chicago, except that "you have actual responsibilities" as mayor.

"They think that the lives of those folks who are struggling each and every day, that working with them to try to improve their lives is somehow not relevant to the presidency?" Obama said.

"I think maybe that's the problem. That's part of why they're out of touch and they don't get it because they haven't spent much time working on behalf of those folks," he told reporters in York, Pennsylvania.

Republican strategist Vin Weber said McCain needs to try to take away Obama's advantage as a change agent.

"He needs to dispel the notion that he's a status quo, Bush third-term candidate," Weber said.

Experience debate

Palin's mocking critique of Obama and the Washington elite charged up Republicans looking for signs of hope that she and McCain can win the White House.

Democrats argue that McCain, by picking the relatively untested and unknown Palin, had ceded his argument that Obama was too inexperienced to be president.

But McCain said he was satisfied she had the right experience and "over time people will compare her accomplishments with that of Senator Obama and his are very meager."

"She is experienced, she's talented and she knows how to lead," McCain told ABC's "Good Morning America." "This is what Americans want. They don't want somebody who (has) frankly necessarily gone to Harvard or an Ivy League school."

Experts said Palin, only the second woman to be a vice presidential nominee of a major U.S. political party, was a plus for the Republican ticket, especially in attracting the conservative base that has sometimes been at odds with McCain.

Biden took what was likely to be his party's line -- praise her speaking but not her message.

"I was impressed by that," Biden said of the speech on ABC's "Good Morning America."

"I also was impressed with what I didn't hear. I didn't hear a word mentioned about the middle class or health care or how people are going to fill up their tanks. I didn't hear a single word about how you're going to get a kid through college. So I was impressed by the speech but also about what I didn't hear spoken."