Even McCain agrees with Obama when it comes to changing Washington. Wonder why he couldn't change things during his 26 years in Washington. Why should we believe him.
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McCain, Obama Battle for Mantle of Change
by FOXNews.com
Friday, September 5, 2008
Sep. 4: John McCain and Sarah Palin at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. (AP)
John McCain will jump back on the campaign trail Friday, as he seeks to build on a narrative that the Republican ticket can deliver the kind of reform in Washington that Barack Obama only talks about.
The Republican presidential nominee, along with his running mate Sarah Palin, developed that message at their national convention this week, swiping themes from Obama’s own campaign in the closing days.
Palin, the first-term Alaska governor, told the convention crowd that McCain has used his career to “promote change,” instead of using change to promote his career.
McCain said Thursday that “change is coming,” accepting the Republican presidential nomination in St. Paul and casting the GOP ticket as a force for reform.
Wasting no time, McCain and Palin will hit the campaign trail in Wisconsin and Michigan, while Obama campaigns in Pennsylvania and holds a fundraiser in New Jersey with Jon Bon Jovi.
With two months to go until Election Day, Obama is still holding the lead in the polls that he opened up during the Democratic National Convention last week.
But McCain closed out the Republican National Convention by urging voters to “fight with me,” as his supporters touted his candidacy.
“You all know, I’ve been called a maverick, someone who marches to the beat of his own drum,” McCain said.
“Sometimes it’s meant as a compliment and sometimes it’s not. What it really means is I understand who I work for. 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.”
In a speech that stressed his military service as well as his reputation as a maverick, the Arizona senator called for an end to the “constant partisan rancor” he says has crippled the federal government.
“Let me just offer an advance warning to the old, big spending, do nothing, me first, country second crowd: Change is coming,” McCain said.
“I’m not in the habit of breaking promises to my country and neither is Governor Palin. And when we tell you we’re going to change Washington, and stop leaving our country’s problems for some unluckier generation to fix, you can count on it. And we’ve got a record of doing just that, and the strength, experience, judgment and backbone to keep our word to you.”
McCain outlined policy differences between him and Obama in an attempt to cast his rival as a big-government liberal, but generally steered clear of attacks on his resume.
Palin, by contrast, taunted Obama as untested Wednesday for describing himself as a “community organizer” and accused him of wanting to turn the presidency into a personal journey of discovery.
McCain actually began his address on a conciliatory note, congratulating Obama, the first black presidential nominee of a major party, for his historic accomplishment.
McCain made reference to Obama’s experience level only once, when he referred to his own record working with “both parties to fix problems.”
“That’s how I will govern as president,” McCain said. “I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again. My friends, I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not.”
He also made an unmistakable reference to his own campaign’s narrative that Obama is a celebrity, saying, “I’m not running for president because I think I’m blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need.”
But his longest line of attack dealt with their policy differences on issues like taxes and energy exploration.
McCain has faced charges from Democrats throughout the campaign, and particularly over the past two weeks, of being a political clone of President Bush.
Though Bush was absent from many Republican speeches this week, McCain said at the top of his address he is “grateful” to Bush for his leadership after the Sept. 11 attacks and “keeping us safe from another attack that many, many thought was inevitable.”
The Obama camp responded to the speech by saying that McCain represents more of the last eight years.
“He admonished the ‘old, do-nothing crowd’ in Washington, but ignored the fact that he’s been part of that crowd for 26 years, opposing solutions on health care, energy and education. He talked about bipartisanship, but didn’t mention that he’s been a Bush partisan 90 percent of the time, that he’s run a Karl Rove campaign, and that he wants to continue this president’s disastrous economic and foreign policies for another four years,” Obama spokesman Bill Burton said.
Before McCain took the stage following the video tribute, Cindy McCain warmed up the crowd by describing her husband as a steady hand at the helm of a country in dangerous times.
“John McCain is a steadfast man who will not break with our heritage, no matter how demanding or dangerous the challenges at home or abroad,” she said. “And let’s not be confused. These are perilous times, not just for America, but for freedom itself.
“It’s going to take someone of unusual strength and character — someone exactly like my husband — to lead us through the reefs and currents that lie ahead. I know John. You can trust his hand at the wheel.”
Cindy McCain, who earlier addressed the convention Monday with Laura Bush, also offered praise for her husband’s vice presidential pick.
On Thursday, Palin received acclamation by the convention to be the Republicans’ vice presidential nominee. McCain was formally nominated for president the day before.
McCain did not attempt to match the stagecraft and magnitude of Obama’s historic acceptance address a week ago to a stadium of 85,000 people.
He did, however, have the stage at the St. Paul Xcel Energy Center rebuilt with a plank that allowed him to step into the delegate audience to deliver his speech — keeping in line with his preferred “town hall” style of forum.
McCain was introduced by a video that highlighted his five years in captivity in North Vietnam.
McCain too invoked those years on stage, saying, “I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else’s.”
The speech capped off a condensed week of party festivities and speeches in which top McCain allies, including his former primary rivals, hammered Obama for being inexperienced and frequently praised McCain for his service and sacrifice to the military.
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