Ezra Klein nails the key critique of McCain’s personal story and his campaign:

Yet tonight’s speech was all about him. The policies are his qualities, the vision is his story, the vice president is his understudy. For all that he mocks Obama for being “the one,” it is McCain who has rested the weight of a presidential candidacy atop his person. He is skilled at deflecting that perception, recasting one man’s candidacy as an expression of every man’s patriotism. But the common denominator in these humble asides remains McCain himself. “I’ve been an imperfect servant of my country for many years. But I have been her servant first, last and always,” McCain says. “My country saved me,” he recalls, “and I cannot forget it.” The signs wave. “Country First,” they read. And then, below: “John McCain.” Such public declarations of patriotism are not about why John McCain loves this country. They are about why this country should love John McCain.