Steve Bell's 2008 US convention sketchbook: Day 11

The stage in the convention centre has developed an alarming growth that thrusts into the hall. This is because John McCain feels more at home in intimate town hall-style gatherings and is not comfortable with big speeches read off the teleprompter Photograph: Copyright © Steve Bell 2008

I’m sitting up in the gallery behind some youthful and very keen Republicans. They are constantly leaping to their feet and chanting “USA! USA!”. McCain stands stiffly at the podium. Because of his extensive war wounds he cannot raise his arms above his head - a severe handicap for a politician Photograph: Copyright © Steve Bell 2008

He has very short, stubby arms that he occasionally raises to chest height to emphasise a point. His oratory is very quiet and restrained, in contrast to the raving mad dog-fest last night Photograph: Copyright © Steve Bell 2008

My neighbours more than make up for McCain’s lack of arm movement. They are up and down, whooping, punching the air and chanting at the slightest excuse, which is just as well, as McCain is an accomplished rabble-drowser Photograph: Copyright © Steve Bell 2008

He even comes up with the classic John Major appeal to get “back to basics”. Because I am drawing in the dark up here in the nosebleed zone, the colour balance starts to go awry Photograph: Copyright © Steve Bell 2008

McCain has the most interesting shaped head, and the more I look at him the more he comes to resemble a chipmunk, with those huge pouches on either side of his face. Also, as a chipmunk probably would in this situation, he is beginning to lose hold of his audience. They are almost grateful when the quickly suppressed eruption of peace demonstrators somewhere in the stadium enables them to chant “USA! USA!” a few more times Photograph: Copyright © Steve Bell 2008

A war hero, family man, former stud, and all-round good guy whose praises have been sung all week, McCain is clearly a man of substance, and his head is suitably sculptural. Yet despite winning the nomination against all the odds, he is somehow not a substantial politician. He loses this audience, talks over their wild cheering and his words are utterly lost. His second wife, his seven children and the Palin tribe troop on, the balloons descend and he wanders off into the night Photograph: Copyright © Steve Bell 2008