John McCain’s acceptance speech

Here it is;

From the Washington Times;

Exactly a week after Mr. Obama wowed a stadium filled with fans in Denver, Mr. McCain used a lower-key address to try to re-establish himself in voters’ minds as the anti-Washington maverick who had earned bipartisan appreciation over the past decade.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona accepts his party’s nomination for President at the Republican National Convention at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., Thursday, September 4, 2008. (J.M. Eddins Jr. / The Washington Times)

Rather than youthful vigor, he offered experience and determination forged by torture and five years in a Vietnam prison. Instead of history in electing the first black president, he offered history by delivering the first female vice-presidential candidate. Instead of soaring rhetoric, he offered a plain-spoken promise to end partisanship.

“I don’t work for a party, I don’t work for a special interest, I don’t work for myself. I work for you,” he said.

From the Washington Post;

Here in St. Paul, McCain spoke indoors at a hockey arena and did not even try to compete with Obama, either in theatrics or in oratory. McCain delivered the speech in workmanlike fashion, with both praise and criticism of his rival. But the message was explicit: He has been there for the tough fights all his life, while his opponent has not.

The conclusion of the Republican convention here Thursday night stood in sharp contrast to the Democrats’ final night in Denver a week ago, when Obama spoke to more than 80,000 people at an outdoor football stadium and delivered perhaps his toughest and most direct criticism of McCain.

Do I want to vote for the guy who has no proven record but who’s clean and well-spoken (to quote his running mate) or someone who has a history of service and comittment but doesn’t hide his shortcomings behind lofty rhetoric?

Category: John McCain/Sarah Palin, Politics