John McCain is an unusual politician. He relishes the atypical. His convention is no different.

Where the Democratic convention was focused and on-message, this convention seems loose, slightly disorganized, all over the place.

Where the Democratic convention was packed to the gills with screaming Obamaphiles, there were more than a few empty seats in the Xcel Center tonight. And the audience did not become particularly excited - other than when Karl Rove waved hello from the Fox booth - until Fred Thompson's strong speech.

Where the Democratic convention featured a constant stream of officeholders praising Barack Obama as an inspirational leader and linking John McCain to George W. Bush, the speakers at tonight's GOP convention were, um, diverse. There was John Boehner, Norm Coleman, George W. Bush, Fred Thompson, and Joe Lieberman. Of those, two are up for reelection this year, another retires on January 20, 2009, the fourth has been out of office since 2003, and the fifth is an "independent Democrat" who praised Bill Clinton and made a direct appeal to independents and Democrats in McCain's behalf.

The conventions resemble the candidates. Obama is smooth and polished, a brand that holds, for the moment, a majority market share. McCain is a politician who takes risks, flouts convention, and loves being the underdog. And somehow he comes out on top.