John McCain accepted the Republican presidential nomination, vowing that “change is coming” to Washington and that he — not Democratic rival Barack Obama — would be the one to deliver it.
Four decades after he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam and eight years after he lost a bitter primary fight to US President George W. Bush, McCain closed out the Republican National Convention basking in cheers from thousands of party leaders, many of whom have not always been enamored of his independent ways.
For most of his speech, McCain’s understated delivery contrasted with the forceful address a day earlier by his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. She electrified the party faithful with a sarcasm-laced attack on Obama and by lashing out at Washington insiders who consider her too inexperienced to be vice president.
But he won cheers as he closed out his remarks with a personal touch, recalling how his five years in captivity ended his cocky, self-absorbed ways and taught him that “no man can always stand alone.”
“I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else’s,” he said.
He called on Americans to join him in defending the country’s ideals.
“Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight,” he said. “Nothing is inevitable here. We’re Americans and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.”
With two months remaining before the election, McCain faces the difficult task of persuading Americans dissatisfied with Bush to elect another Republican to the White House.
And in a campaign in which both candidates have adopted the mantel of change, McCain was making the case that a 72-year-old with more than two decades in Washington was more likely to shake up the capital than the 47-year-old Obama, a first-term senator who is seeking to become the first black US president.
McCain said he has worked with Democrats before — often to the chagrin of Republicans — and, if elected, would continue to do so.
“I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again. I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not,” he said.
In calling for an end to the “constant partisan rancor,” McCain looked to win over support of independents and moderate Democrats whose votes can be decisive in the presidential race.
McCain has had to strike a difficult balance distancing himself from Bush’s unpopular presidency, while not alienating the Republican Party base that remains loyal to the president.
Only once did McCain refer to Bush directly — though not by name — when he said he was “grateful to the president for leading us” after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
But he also took an indirect swipe at Bush, saying Republicans had lost Americans’ trust “when we valued our power over our principles. We’re going to change that.”
Bush, in a remarkable break with tradition, did not attend his party’s convention. Instead, he delivered a brief speech on Tuesday via satellite in which he stressed McCain’s independence.
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