John McCain is 72 years old and represents a party that has grown unpopular in office. He showed on Thursday that he lacks even a quarter of the speaking ability of his opponent, he cannot approach the raw excitement of the Obama campaign and he has nominated as his running-mate a woman who advocates creationism in schools and who, for all her “Hockey Mom” qualities and her proven record with a rifle on the Alaskan tundra, is barely tested on the national stage and unready for the White House.

Yet understanding America means realising that John McCain could yet be the next president of the United States.

As the Republican writer Peggy Noonan put it this week, America is a huge and lonely country. Beyond the familiar and powerful cities lies a massive expanse of suburbs and ex-urbs and flat plains and rural land. One can drive for miles in the dark past small towns illuminated only by the golden arches of McDonald's, the olde worlde charms of prefab Cracker Barrels and those unchanging purveyors of nostalgia and fat, Denny's and Dairy Queen.

Here live the millions who fill the churches, serve the military, man the factories and till the land. These people, especially in the South and Midwest are the constituency of Mr McCain and Sarah Palin. They underpin the resilience of the American Right.

Immediately after the Second World War, aspiring Labour candidates like Denis Healey attended their party conference in army uniform. It has been decades since such a military display would have seemed in place at a British political meeting. Viewed from this country, the Republican convention seemed oddly obsessed with the military, and John McCain's personal story is an historical event. But in middle America, where everyone knows someone who is fighting or has fought a war in recent times, talking about the military is talking about their lives.

For middle America it is not a joke to hunt moose, it is not kooky to believe in biblical truth and the phrase “Hockey Mom” needs no translation. A recent poll suggested that almost any label would be better for a political candidate than being considered an atheist. Sarah Palin, beauty queen, sports reporter and mom of five, may fascinate in Europe, but she inspires in America.

As does John McCain. From the beginning of the presidential campaign the appeal of this authentic American hero has been underestimated. He has proven that his rebel streak, his independence and his maverick spirit strike a real chord with voters. He has been underestimated and he should not be.

When Bill Clinton was President, his advisers concluded that he was being damaged by his holidays. Being seen relaxing on yachts with Jacqueline Onassis was making him appear out of touch. Extraordinarily, they started polling to identify alternative destinations. Eventually, it was decided that the Clintons should go on a mountain vacation, with plenty of hiking. A good, plain, American holiday.

The practices of America's politicians and the preferences of its people are sometimes difficult for foreigners to follow. But only by trying to do so can this presidential election be understood.

It is often suggested that the biggest political danger to Barack Obama is race. It isn't. Class is far more dangerous. The American Right has, for 40 years now, surfed a tide of anger against elites and the feeling that “they” in Washington don't get “us” here in the real America.

The Democratic convention was a showcase for America's ideals, appealing to voters to back the future rather than the past. The Republicans appealed to the heartland, pitting the people against the powerful. It has worked before.