国际英语新闻：Palin to take center stage of third night of Republican Convention

ST. PAUL, the United States, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Alaska governor Sarah Palin will accept the Republican vice presidential nomination Wednesday night in St. Paul, Minn., at the third night of the Republican National Convention.

    Earlier in the morning, the 44-year old first-term female governor took tour of the stage at the convention, and stood at the lectern where she'll deliver her first major speech as presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate.

U.S. Republican vice-presidential candidate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin campaigns in Washington, Pennsylvania August 30, 2008

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was set to deliver the night's keynote address.

    Republicans hoped Palin's speech -- to be delivered before a nationwide television audience Wednesday night -- would sell voters on her candidacy despite questions about her qualifications and the thoroughness of McCain's selection process, to say nothing of the continuing distractions involving her family and her brief tenure as governor.

    She has earned a reputation for taking on entrenched interests in Alaska and is staunchly pro-gun and anti-abortion. But the stunning disclosure Monday that Palin's unmarried 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is five months pregnant -- and a continuing drip of potentially embarrassing details -- had knocked the convention off message for a while.

    The media focus on Palin's difficulties will not go away, particularly since Bristol Palin and the unborn child's father, 18-year-old Levi Johnston, were to attend Wednesday's session.

    Republicans across the party defended Palin, who in addition to her daughter's pregnancy is under investigation by a state legislative panel over whether she had Alaska's public safety commissioner fired after he refused to dismiss a state trooper who had divorced Palin's sister.