By IANS,
Washington : Vietnam War veteran John McCain became the new flag bearer of the Republican Party in the race for the White House with a promise to overcome “partisan rancour” and narrow self interest to bring “change” in Washington.
Accepting the party’s presidential nomination Thursday at the end of a four-day convention in St Paul, Minnesota, marked by blistering attacks on Barack Obama, McCain said he respected and admired his Democratic rival but it was he who would bring real change.
“Let me offer an advance warning to the old, big-spending, do-nothing, me-first-country-second Washington crowd: Change is coming,” McCain said, blending Obama’s message of change with his offer of bipartisanship.
“The constant partisan rancour that stops us from solving these problems isn’t a cause, it’s a symptom,” he said. “It’s what happens when people go to Washington to work for themselves and not you. Again and again, I’ve worked with members of both parties to fix problems that need to be fixed. That’s how I will govern as president.”
McCain, 72, suggested that his choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running-mate made him an outsider against Washington, even though he has served in Congress for more than 25 years and if elected would be the oldest president to ever enter the White House.
Trying to distance himself from an unpopular Republican president George W. Bush, McCain, in tune with his reputation as a maverick, defined bipartisanship as not only working with the opposite party but being prepared to work against his own party.
“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,” McCain said, suggesting that while he put the “country first”, his rival put his own political interests ahead.
“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.”
Building on the themes his running mate Sarah Palin hit Wednesday night, when she characterised McCain as a persevering bipartisan lawmaker with a record, the Republican candidate said: “I’m not in the habit of breaking promises to my country and neither is Governor Palin”.
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.
Addressing American fears about the weak US economy, McCain promised to keep taxes low and accused Obama of seeking to raise them. He said he would offer education programmes to help workers who have lost jobs from a loss of the country’s manufacturing base.
“My opponent promises to bring back old jobs by wishing away the global economy. We’re going to help workers who’ve lost a job that won’t come back, find a new one that won’t go away,” he said.
He began his address to chants of “USA” as supporters tried to drown out anti-war protesters who hung signs in the balconies and demonstrated in the aisles before being escorted out.
Cindy McCain just minutes earlier described her husband as a steady hand at the helm of a country in dangerous times, as she warmed up the Republican convention crowd.
“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.”
McCain’s 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.
With two weeks of back-to-back conventions over, the two candidates, left with an unusually brief eight-week general election campaign, quickly plunged themselves back into the electoral battle.
Right after his speech McCain was to fly to Wisconsin before heading to Colorado. Obama, who kept campaigning through the Republican convention, is making appearances in Pennsylvania and Indiana.