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Republican presidential nominee John McCain and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. (Reuters)
Last update - 14:27 05/09/2008
McCain takes swipe at Bush, pledges to recover Americans' trust
By The Associated Press
Tags: Obama, Republican Convention 

John McCain accepted the Republican presidential nomination Thursday, warning Washington politicians that change is coming and denouncing the partisan rancor he said was gripping the country's ruling establishment that he has been a part of for more than two decades.

The four-term Arizona senator was met with extended applause from delegates to the Republican National Convention and guests crammed into the Excel Energy Center. He declared himself the only choice for voters who want an end to gridlock in Washington and the tradition of politicians who work for themselves and not you.

McCain was seriously horning in on Democratic candidate Barack Obama's message of change, apparently hoping to blunt the Democratic assertion that a McCain victory on Nov. 4 would mean four more years of the polices of unpopular President George W. Bush.
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The Republican standard-bearer took on a precarious task to present his credentials as a reformer willing to challenge his own party and stressing his independence from Bush without alienating his base.

"Let me offer an advance warning to the old, big spending, do nothing, me first, country second Washington crowd: change is coming," McCain said.

While praising Bush for leading the country through the years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States, McCain took a serious swipe at the president. He said "Republicans had lost Americans' trust when we valued our power over our principles. We're going to change that."

"We're going to recover the people's trust by standing up again for the values Americans admire. The party of Lincoln, (Theodore) Roosevelt and Reagan is going to get back to basics."

McCain was interrupted by a protester about 10 minutes into his address. The partisan audience chanted USA, USA in unison to drown out the man's message. McCain stopped speaking briefly, laughed and said please ignore the brown noise and static.

He opened his speech with a bow to Obama saying, "you have my respect and admiration. Despite our differences, much more unites us than divides us." But he made it clear he would not let that stop a vigorous campaign. "Let there be no doubt, my friends, we're going to win this election."

The Republican candidate made only limited references to Obama. He stuck to a script that outlined but added nothing new to his positions on the economy, foreign policy or ways to fix the country's energy crisis.

The Vietnam war hero, who spent more than five years in a Hanoi prison, recalled that he "fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's. ... I wasn't my own man anymore. I was my country's."

McCain's path to the nomination was long and tortuous. He was the early front-runner for the nomination this year, but his candidacy collapsed when his stands on immigration and campaign financing angered the party's conservative base. Also, his recommendations for more U.S. troops in Iraq were rejected by most Americans.

Recalling those difficult days, McCain said: "I fought for the right strategy and more troops in Iraq, when it wasn't a popular thing to do. And when the pundits said my campaign was finished, I said I'd rather lose an election than see my country lose a war."

He revived his bid as Bush agreed to a troop buildup in Iraq and violence there began to diminish. McCain's positions on top issues, including immigration, moved closer to the Republican mainstream's. And the campaigns of top rivals, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, collapsed.

It was McCain's second run for the nomination. He lost to Bush in a bitter contest in 2000.

McCain, a 72-year-old cancer survivor who was tortured repeatedly in North Vietnam's infamous Hanoi Hilton prison, is running to be the oldest first-term U.S. president. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, his running mate, is the Republican party's first female vice presidential nominee and would be the first female vice president of the United States. An Obama victory would make him the first black American president.

McCain again related the story of his captivity and torture in Hanoi, declaring: "My country saved me, and I cannot forget it. And I will fight for her for as long as I draw breath, so help me God."

"I'm going to fight to make sure every American has every reason to thank God, as I thank Him: that I'm an American, a proud citizen of the greatest country on Earth, and with hard work, strong faith and a little courage, great things are always within our reach. Fight with me. Fight with me," he said.

McCain faced a tough job as he sought to top the electrifying address Palin gave Wednesday night. She was formally nominated Thursday night.

He may have succeeded as he brought the overflowing crowd to its feet, ending his 53-minute address, by urging Americans to: "Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. Nothing is inevitable here. We're Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history."


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      1.   Certainly Looks Like McCain Is In 06:59  |  Eli 05/09/08
      2.   Halliburton, Blackwater, Boing - Take Note 06:59  |  Mark of Lewiston 05/09/08
      3.   McCain got stuck on the word, fight, fight, fight! 08:30  |  Maureen Ann 05/09/08
      4.   response to McCain`s speech was terrible 08:37  |  Proudest Zionist 05/09/08
      5.   There`s a surprise 09:20  |  Clickfool 05/09/08
      6.   New Issues for Debates? 10:15  |  Mark of Lewiston 05/09/08
      7.   McCain????? which one 10:30  |  American 05/09/08
      8.   WE MAKE HISTORY? OF COURSE 11:11  |  indrajaya 05/09/08
      9.   O Bomb Us, you`re yesterday`s toast 11:32  |  Ramius 05/09/08
      10.   # 4, PROUDEST ZIONIST 11:41  |  indrajaya 05/09/08
      11.   # 2 Mark of Lewiston, you must be kidding.... 11:45  |  Swiss (Dino) 05/09/08
      12.   McCains speech was clearly designed for the..... 12:54  |  Swiss (Dino) 05/09/08
      13.   Swiss (Dino) - No Kidding 12:55  |  Mark of Lewiston 05/09/08
      14.   # 13 Mark of Lewiston 13:24  |  Swiss (Dino) 05/09/08
      15.   To #4 I disagree 16:16  |  Harry 05/09/08
      16.   #8 - Indrajaya 16:24  |  Deborah 05/09/08
      17.   # 5 Clicky....just the kind of leader the US needs 16:34  |  Lynn 05/09/08
      18.   32 Mark of Lewiston....a fair just government is all 16:43  |  Lynn 05/09/08
      19.   # 8 Indy....that`s what you get 17:08  |  Lynn 05/09/08
      20.   THIS IS A BOGUS NEWS PIECE;MCCAIN HAS LAID OUT HIS ENERGY PLAN!!! 17:40  |  glenna 05/09/08
      21.   Swiss (Dino) # 13 _ Just Because They Chose An Impetuous 18:08  |  Eli 05/09/08
      22.   his country saved him? BS 19:07  |  Roo 05/09/08
      23.   14 Swiss (Dino) 19:41  |  Mark of Lewiston 05/09/08
      24.   15 Lynn - Exactly 19:54  |  Mark of Lewiston 05/09/08
      25.   his country saved him? BS 19:54  |  Roo 05/09/08
      26.   #3 Maureen Ann 20:25  |  Buck 05/09/08
      27.   #6 Mark 20:31  |  Buck 05/09/08
      28.   #15 Lynn, that is a bit too easy and non-concrete 20:57  |  Mark B. 05/09/08
      29.   # 5 Clicky...Good grief, it`s not American Idol. 20:58  |  Lynn 05/09/08
      30.   #8 Indrajaya 21:00  |  Buck 05/09/08
      31.   #12 Swiss....what would you think 21:03  |  Lynn 05/09/08
      32.   Dino the European thinks that European interests 21:10  |  x-ray 05/09/08
      33.   For Lynn # 16 21:29  |  Clickfool 05/09/08
      34.   McCain gains glory through his choice 21:37  |  x-ray 05/09/08
      35.   To Indrajaya 21:55  |  Proud Jew 05/09/08
      36.   McCain vs Bush 21:59  |  Brod 05/09/08
      37.   his country saved him? BS 22:07  |  Roo 05/09/08
      38.   #18 x-ray, not dominate but part of it 22:22  |  Mark B. 05/09/08
      39.   For X-Ray # 20 22:23  |  Clickfool 05/09/08
      40.   Lynn #17 on taxation for Big Business 23:06  |  John Syracuse 05/09/08
      41.   Cherche la femme (even if she`s married + 5...) 23:09  |  Esther 05/09/08
      42.   It ain`t McCain... 23:40  |  Esther 05/09/08
      43.   #19, Clickfool... 23:49  |  Silvienne 05/09/08
      44.   #3, Maureen Ann... 23:52  |  Silvienne 05/09/08
      45.   #1, Eli...what country are you living in? 23:55  |  Silvienne 05/09/08
      46.   hard to seem down on Bush`s 00:09  |  Mark Lincoln 06/09/08
      47.   The Veeps matter 00:12  |  Mark Lincoln 06/09/08
      48.   his country saved him? 00:44  |  Roo 06/09/08
      49.   Strength vs Weakness 00:53  |  Brod 06/09/08
      50.   Mark of Lewiston 01:30  |  Rudi 06/09/08
      51.   McCain-Palin, a disaster waiting to happen 01:42  |  Douglas Fireman 06/09/08
      52.   26 Buck - Through the Bospherus 02:20  |  Mark of Lewiston 06/09/08
      53.   49 Rudi - Both Sides have Lobbyists 02:35  |  Mark of Lewiston 06/09/08
      54.   McCain -wrapping paper 03:26  |  American 06/09/08
      55.   #26 Buck. Aren`t you glad you can still believe in myths? 05:52  |  Maureen Ann 06/09/08
      56.   #40, say, cupcake, Lynn, can I send 05:55  |  ballistic 06/09/08
      57.   #44 Silvienne. McCain endorsed %95 Bush Policy (various media) 06:16  |  Maureen Ann 06/09/08
      58.   #28 - Mark B. 06:51  |  Deborah 06/09/08
      59.   # 19, LYNN 08:16  |  indrajaya 06/09/08
      60.   McClickfool says old = tired 09:58  |  x-ray 06/09/08
      61.   For Eli in Berkeley - are Americans off their rockers? # 1 11:00  |  Clickfool 06/09/08
      62.   That Palin speech (2nd try) 11:07  |  Clickfool 06/09/08
      63.   Mark of Lewiston #53 13:10  |  Rudi 06/09/08
      64.   # 42 hush now esther!; you`ll spill the beans! (2nd try) 15:08  |  eric 06/09/08
      65.   # 23 Mark of Lewiston 16:54  |  Swiss (Dino) 06/09/08
      66.   328 Mark B...Roe v Wade is part of the "law of the land" 16:59  |  Lynn 06/09/08
      67.   # 31 Lynn 17:01  |  Swiss (Dino) 06/09/08
      68.   McCain`s Game 17:05  |  Douglas Fireman