Sen. John McCain's full acceptance speech to the RNC

Arizona Senator and Presidential candidate John McCain speaks to the Republican National Convention.

MCCAIN: Thank you. Thank you all very much. Thank you.

Tonight, I have a privilege given few Americans: the privilege of

accepting our party's nomination for president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you. Thanks. And I accept it with...

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you. I -- and I accept it with gratitude, humility, and confidence.

In my life, no success has come without a good fight, and this

nomination wasn't any different. That's a tribute to the candidates

who opposed me and their supporters. They're leaders of great ability

who love our country and wish to lead it to better days. Their support

is an honor that I won't forget.

I'm grateful to the president of the United States for leading us in

these dark days following the worst attack in American history.

(APPLAUSE)

The worst attack on American soil in our history and keeping us safe

from another attack that many -- many thought was inevitable.

MCCAIN: And to the first lady...

(APPLAUSE)

And to the first lady, Laura Bush, a model of grace and kindness in

public and in private.

(APPLAUSE)

And I'm grateful to the 41st president and his bride of 63 years for

their outstanding example...

(APPLAUSE)

... for their outstanding example of honorable service to our country.

As always, I'm indebted to my wife, Cindy, and my seven children. You

know, the pleasures of family life can seem like a brief holiday from

the crowded calendar of our nation's business. But I have treasured

them all the more and can't imagine a life without the happiness that

you've given me.

You know, Cindy said a lot of nice things about me tonight. But, in

truth, she's more my inspiration than I am hers.

(APPLAUSE)

Her concern for those less blessed than we are -- victims of land

mines, children born in poverty, with birth defects -- shows the

measure of her humanity. And I know that she will make a great first

lady.

(APPLAUSE)

My friends, when I was growing up, my father was often at sea, and the

job of raising my brother, sister and me would fall to my mother

alone. Roberta McCain gave us her love of life, her deep interest in

the world, her strength, and her belief that we're all meant to use

our opportunities to make ourselves useful to our country.

I wouldn't be here tonight but for the strength of her character.

(APPLAUSE)

MCCAIN: And she doesn't want me to say this, but she's 96 years young.

My heartfelt thanks to all of you who helped me win this nomination

and stood by me when the odds were long. I won't let you down.

(APPLAUSE)

I won't let you down. I won't let you down.

(APPLAUSE)

To Americans who have yet to decide who to vote for, thank you for

your consideration and the opportunity to win your trust. I intend to

earn it.

(APPLAUSE)

And, finally, a word to Senator Obama and his supporters. We'll go at

it -- we'll go at it over the next two months -- you know that's the

nature of this business -- and there are big differences between us.

But you have my respect and my admiration.

Despite our differences, much more unites us than divides us. We are

fellow Americans, and that's an association that means more to me than

any other.

(APPLAUSE)

We're dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal

and endowed by our creator with inalienable rights. No country -- no

country ever had a greater cause than that. And I wouldn't be an

American worthy of the name if I didn't honor Senator Obama and his

supporters for their achievement.

But let there be no doubt, my friends: We're going to win this election.

(APPLAUSE)

MCCAIN: And after we've won, we're going to reach out our hand to any

willing patriot, make this government start working for you again, and

get this country back on the road to prosperity and peace.

(APPLAUSE)

I know these are tough times for many of you. You're worried about...

(APPLAUSE)

Please, please, please. My friends, my dear friends, please. Please

don't be diverted by the ground noise and the static.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, I'm going to talk about it some more. But Americans want us

to stop yelling at each other, OK?

(APPLAUSE)

These are tough times for many of you. You're worried about keeping

your job or finding a new one, and you're struggling to put food on

the table and stay in your home.

(APPLAUSE)

All you've ever asked of your government is to stand on your side and

not in your way. And that's what I intend to do: stand on your side

and fight for your future.

(APPLAUSE)

MCCAIN: And I've found just the right partner to help me shake up

Washington, Governor Sarah...

(APPLAUSE)

Governor Sarah Palin of the great state of Alaska.

(APPLAUSE)

And I want to thank everyone here and all over America for the

tremendous, wonderful, warm reception you gave her last night. Thank

you so much. She deserves it. What a great beginning.

You know, she has an executive experience and a real record of

accomplishment. She's tackled tough problems, like energy independence

and corruption. She's balanced a budget, cut taxes, and she's taken on

the special interests.

(APPLAUSE)

She's reached across the aisle and asked Republicans, Democrats, and

independents to serve in her administration. She's the wonderful

mother of five children.

(APPLAUSE)

She's -- she's helped run a small business. She's worked with her

hands and knows -- and knows what it's like to worry about mortgage

payments, and health care, and the cost of gasoline and groceries.

She knows where she comes from, and she knows who she works for. She

stands up for what's right, and she doesn't let anyone tell her to sit

down.

(APPLAUSE)

I'm very proud to have introduced our next vice president to the

country, but I can't wait until I introduce her to Washington.

(APPLAUSE)

And let me just offer an advance warning to the old, big- spending,

do-nothing, me-first, country-second crowd: Change is coming.

(APPLAUSE)

I'm not -- I'm not in the habit of breaking my 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...

(APPLAUSE)

We've got a record of doing just that, and the strength, experience,

judgment, and backbone to keep our word to you.

(APPLAUSE)

You well know I've been called a maverick, someone who...

(APPLAUSE)

... someone who marches to the beat of his own drum. Sometimes it's

meant as a compliment; 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.

(APPLAUSE)

I've fought corruption, and it didn't matter if the culprits were

Democrats or Republicans. They violated their public trust, and they

had to be held accountable.

MCCAIN: I've fought the big spenders...

(APPLAUSE)

I've fought the big spenders in both parties, who waste your money on

things you neither need nor want, and the first big-spending

pork-barrel earmark bill that comes across my desk, I will veto it. I

will make them famous, and you will know their names. You will know

their names.

(APPLAUSE)

We're not going to allow that while you struggle to buy groceries,

fill your gas tank, and make your mortgage payment. I've fought to get

million-dollar checks out of our elections. I've fought lobbyists who

stole from Indian tribes. I've fought crooked deals in the Pentagon.

I've fought tobacco companies and trial lawyers, drug companies and

union bosses.

(APPLAUSE)

I've fought for the right strategy and more troops in Iraq when it

wasn't the popular thing to do.

(APPLAUSE)

And when the pundits said -- when the pundits said my campaign was

finished, I said I'd rather lose an election than see my country lose

a war.

(APPLAUSE)

And thanks -- thanks to the leadership of a brilliant general, David

Petraeus, and the brave men and women he has the honor to command...

(APPLAUSE)

... that -- that strategy succeeded, and it rescued us from a defeat

that would have demoralized our military, risked a wider war, and

threatened the security of all Americans.

(APPLAUSE)

I don't mind a good fight. For reasons known only to God, I've had

quite a few tough ones in my life. But I learned an important lesson

along the way: In the end, it matters less that you can fight. What

you fight for is the real test.

(APPLAUSE)

I fight for Americans. I fight for you. I fight for Bill and Sue Nebe

from Farmington Hills, Michigan, who lost...

(APPLAUSE)

... lost their real estate investments in the bad housing market. Bill

got a temporary job after he was out of work for seven months. Sue

works three jobs to help pay the bills.

I fight for Jake and Toni Wimmer of Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Jake...

(APPLAUSE)

Jake works on a loading dock, coaches Little League, and raises money

for the mentally and physically disabled. Toni is a schoolteacher,

working toward her master's degree. They have two sons. The youngest,

Luke, has been diagnosed with autism. Their lives should matter to the

people they elect to office. And they matter to me. And they matter to

you.

I fight for the family of Matthew Stanley of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.

(APPLAUSE)

Matthew died serving our country in Iraq. I wear his bracelet and

think of him every day. I intend to honor their sacrifice by making

sure the country their son loved so well and never returned to remains

safe from its enemies.

(APPLAUSE)

I fight to restore the pride and principles of our party. We were

elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us.

MCCAIN: We lost -- we lost the trust of the American people when some

Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption. We lost their

trust when rather than reform government, both parties made it bigger.

We lost their trust when instead of freeing ourselves from a dangerous

dependence on foreign oil, both parties -- and Senator Obama -- passed

another corporate welfare bill for oil companies. We lost their trust

when we valued our power over our principles.

We're going to change that.

(APPLAUSE)

We're going to recover the people's trust by standing up again to the

values Americans admire. The party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan is

going to get back to basics.

(APPLAUSE)

In this country, we believe everyone has something to contribute and

deserves the opportunity to reach their God-given potential, from the

boy whose descendents arrived on the Mayflower to the Latina daughter

of migrant workers. We're all God's children, and we're all Americans.

(APPLAUSE)

We believe -- we believe in low taxes, spending discipline, and open

markets. We believe in rewarding hard work and risk-takers and letting

people keep the fruits of their labor.

We believe...

(APPLAUSE)

We believe -- we believe in a strong defense, work, faith, service, a

culture of life...

(APPLAUSE)

... personal responsibility, the rule of law, and judges who dispense

justice impartially and don't legislate from the bench.

(APPLAUSE) We believe in the values of families, neighborhoods, and

communities. We believe in a government that unleashes the creativity

and initiative of Americans, government that doesn't make your choices

for you, but works to make sure you have more choices to make for

yourself.

(APPLAUSE)

I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise

them. I will open...

(AUDIENCE BOOS)

I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them.

(AUDIENCE BOOS)

I will cut government spending. He will increase it.

(AUDIENCE BOOS)

My tax cuts will create jobs; his tax increases will eliminate them.

(AUDIENCE BOOS)

My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and

keep good health care insurance. His plan will force small businesses

to cut jobs, reduce wages, and force families into a government-run

health care system where a bureaucrat...

(AUDIENCE BOOS)

... where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor.

(AUDIENCE BOOS)

We all know that keeping taxes low helps small businesses grow and

create new jobs. Cutting the second-highest business tax rate in the

world will help American companies compete and keep jobs from going

overseas.

(APPLAUSE)

Doubling the child tax exemption from $3,500 to $7,000 will improve

the lives of millions of American families.

(APPLAUSE)

MCCAIN: Reducing government spending and getting rid of failed

programs will let you keep more of your own money to save, spend, and

invest as you see fit.

(APPLAUSE)

Opening new markets and preparing workers to compete in the world

economy is essential to our future prosperity.

I know some of you have been left behind in the changing economy, and

it often sees that your government hasn't even noticed. Government

assistance for the unemployed workers was designed for the economy of

the 1950s. That's going to change on my watch.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, 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.

(APPLAUSE)

We will prepare them for the jobs of day -- of today. We will use our

community colleges to help train people for new opportunities in their

communities.

(APPLAUSE)

For workers in industries -- for workers in industries that have been

hard-hit, we'll help make up part of the difference in wages between

their old job and a temporary, lower paid one, while they receive

re-training that will help them find secure new employment at a decent

wage.

(APPLAUSE)

Education -- education is the civil rights issue of this century.

(APPLAUSE)

Equal access to public education has been gained, but what is the

value of access to a failing school? We need...

(APPLAUSE) We need to shake up failed school bureaucracies with

competition, empower parents with choice.

(APPLAUSE)

Let's remove barriers to qualified instructors, attract and reward

good teachers, and help bad teachers find another line of work.

(APPLAUSE)

When a public school fails to meet its obligations to students, parent

-- when it fails to meet its obligations to students, parents deserve

a choice in the education of their children. And I intend to give it

to them.

(APPLAUSE)

Some may choose a better public school. Some may choose a private one.

Many will choose a charter school. But they will have the choice, and

their children will have that opportunity.

(APPLAUSE)

Senator Obama wants our schools to answer to unions and entrenched

bureaucrats. I want schools to answer to parents and students.

(APPLAUSE)

And when I'm president, they will.

(APPLAUSE)

My fellow Americans, when I'm president, we're going to embark on the

most ambitious national project in decades.

MCCAIN: We're going to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries

that don't like us very much, and some of that money...

(APPLAUSE)

We'll attack -- we'll attack the problem on every front. We'll produce

more energy at home. We will drill new wells off-shore, and we'll

drill them now. We'll drill them now.

(APPLAUSE)

We'll -- we'll -- my friends, we'll build more nuclear power plants.

We'll develop clean-coal technology. We'll increase the use of wind,

tide, solar, and natural gas. We'll encourage the development and use

of flex-fuel, hybrid and electric automobiles.

(APPLAUSE)

Senator Obama thinks we can achieve energy independence without more

drilling and without more nuclear power. But Americans know better

than that.

(APPLAUSE)

We must use all resources and develop all technologies necessary to

rescue our economy from the damage caused by rising oil prices and

restore the health of our planet.

My friends...

(APPLAUSE)

... it's an ambitious plan, but Americans are ambitious by nature, and

we've faced greater challenges. It's time for us to show the world

again how Americans lead.

(APPLAUSE)

This great national cause will create millions of new jobs, many in

industries that will be the engine of our future prosperity, jobs that

will be there when your children enter the workforce.

Today -- today, the prospect of a better world remains within our

reach. But we must see the threats to peace and liberty in our time

clearly and face them as Americans before us did: with confidence,

wisdom, and resolve. We have dealt...

(APPLAUSE)

We have dealt a serious blow to Al Qaeda in recent years, but they're

not defeated, and they'll strike us again, if they can. Iran remains

the chief state sponsor of terrorism and is on the path to acquiring

nuclear weapons.

Russia's leaders, rich with oil wealth and corrupt with power, have

rejected democratic ideals and the obligations of a responsible power.

They invaded a small, democratic neighbor to gain more control over

the world's oil supply, intimidate other neighbors, and further their

ambitions of re-assembling the Russian empire.

And the brave people of Georgia need our solidarity and our prayers.

(APPLAUSE)

As president, I'll work to establish good relations with Russia so

that we need not fear a return to the Cold War. But we can't turn a

blind eye to aggression and international lawlessness that threatens

the peace and stability of the world and the security of the American

people.

We face many dangerous threats in this dangerous world, but I'm not

afraid of them. I'm prepared for them.

(APPLAUSE)

I know how the military works, what it can do, what it can do better,

and what it shouldn't do. I know how the world works. I know the good

and the evil in it.

I know how to work with leaders who share our dreams of a freer, safer

and more prosperous world, and how to stand up to those who don't.

(APPLAUSE)

I know how to secure the peace.

MCCAIN: My friends, when I was 5 years old, a car pulled up in front

of our house. A Navy officer rolled down the window and shouted at my

father that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. I rarely saw my

father again for four years.

My grandfather came home from that same war exhausted from the burdens

he had borne and died the next day.

In Vietnam, where I formed the closest friendships of my life, some of

those friends never came home with me.

I hate war. It's terrible beyond imagination.

I'm running for president to keep the country I love safe and prevent

other families from risking their loved ones in war as my family has.

I will draw on all my experience with the world and its leaders, and

all the tools at our disposal -- diplomatic, economic, military, and

the power of our ideals -- to build the foundations for a stable and

enduring peace.

(APPLAUSE)

In America, we change things that need to be changed. Each generation

makes its contribution to our greatness. The work that is ours to do

is plainly before us; we don't need to search for it.

We need to change the way government does almost everything: from the

way we protect our security to the way we compete in the world

economy; from the way we respond to disasters to the way we fuel our

transportation network; from the way we train our workers to the way

we educate our children.

All these functions of government were designed before the rise of the

global economy, the information technology revolution, and the end of

the Cold War. We have to catch up to history, and we have to change

the way we do business in Washington.

(APPLAUSE)

The -- the constant partisan rancor that stops us from solving these

problems isn't a cause. It's a symptom. It's what happens when people

go to Washington to work for themselves and not for you.

(APPLAUSE)

Again and again -- 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. I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get

this country moving again.

My friends...

(APPLAUSE)

... I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not.

(APPLAUSE)

Instead -- instead of rejecting good ideas because we didn't think of

them first, let's use the best ideas from both sides. Instead of

fighting over who gets the credit, let's try sharing it.

This amazing country...

(APPLAUSE)

This amazing country can do anything we put our minds to. I'll ask

Democrats and Independents to serve with me. And my administration

will set a new standard for transparency and accountability.

We're...

(APPLAUSE)

We're going to finally start getting things done for the people who

are counting on us, and I won't care who gets the credit.

My friends, I've been an imperfect servant of my country for many

years. But I've been her servant first, last, and always. And I've

never...

(APPLAUSE)

I've never lived a day, in good times or bad, that I didn't thank God

for the privilege.

(APPLAUSE)

MCCAIN: Long ago, something unusual happened to me that taught me the

most valuable lesson of my life. I was blessed by misfortune. I mean

that sincerely. I was blessed because I served in the company of

heroes and I witnessed a thousand acts of courage, and compassion, and

love.

On an October morning, in the Gulf of Tonkin, I prepared for my 23rd

mission over North Vietnam. I hadn't any worry I wouldn't come back

safe and sound. I thought I was tougher than anyone. I was pretty

independent then, too.

(LAUGHTER)

I liked to bend a few rules and pick a few fights for the fun of it.

But I did it for my own pleasure, my own pride. I didn't think there

was a cause that was more important than me.

Then I found myself falling toward the middle of a small lake in the

city of Hanoi, with two broken arms, a broken leg, and an angry crowd

waiting to greet me.

(LAUGHTER)

I was dumped in a dark cell and left to die. I didn't feel so tough anymore.

When they discovered my father was an admiral, they took me to a

hospital. They couldn't set my bones properly, so they just slapped a

cast on me. And when I didn't get better and was down to about a

hundred pounds, they put me in a cell with two other Americans.

I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even feed myself. They did it for

me. I was beginning to learn the limits of my selfish independence.

Those men saved my life.

(APPLAUSE)

I was in solitary confinement when my captors offered to release me. I

knew why. If I went home, they would use it as propaganda to

demoralize my fellow prisoners.

Our code said we could only go home in the order of our capture, and

there were men who had been shot down long before me. I thought about

it, though. I wasn't in great shape, and I missed everything about

America, but I turned it down.

A lot of prisoners had it much worse...

(APPLAUSE)

A lot of -- a lot of prisoners had it a lot worse than I did. I'd been

mistreated before, but not as badly as many others. I always liked to

strut a little after I'd been roughed up to show the other guys I was

tough enough to take it.

But after I turned down their offer, they worked me over harder than

they ever had before, for a long time, and they broke me.

When they brought me back to my cell, I was hurt and ashamed, and I

didn't know how I could face my fellow prisoners. The good man in the

cell next door to me, my friend, Bob Craner, saved me.

Through taps on a wall, he told me I had fought as hard as I could. No

man can always stand alone. And then he told me to get back up and

fight again for my country and for the men I had the honor to serve

with, because every day they fought for me.

(APPLAUSE)

I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone

else's. I loved it not just for the many comforts of life here. I

loved it for its decency, for its faith in the wisdom, justice, and

goodness of its people.

MCCAIN: I loved it because it was not just a place, but an idea, a

cause worth fighting for. I was never the same again; I wasn't my own

man anymore; I was my country's.

(APPLAUSE)

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.

(APPLAUSE)

My country saved me. 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.

(APPLAUSE)

My friends, if you find faults with our country, make it a better one.

If you're disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks

and work to correct them. Enlist...

(APPLAUSE)

Enlist in our Armed Forces. Become a teacher. Enter the ministry. Run

for public office. Feed a hungry child. Teach an -- an illiterate

adult to read. Comfort the afflicted. Defend the rights of the

oppressed.

Our country will be the better, and you will be the happier, because

nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater

than yourself.

(APPLAUSE)

I'm going to fight for my cause every day as your president. 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 -- with hard word, strong faith,

and a little courage, great things are always within our reach.

Fight with me. Fight with me.

(APPLAUSE)

Fight for what's right for our country. Fight for the ideals and

character of a free people.

(APPLAUSE)

Fight for our children's future. Fight for justice and opportunity for all.

(APPLAUSE)

Stand up to defend our country from its enemies. Stand up for each

other, for beautiful, blessed, bountiful America.

(APPLAUSE)

Stand up, stand up, stand up, and fight.

(APPLAUSE)

Nothing is inevitable here. We're Americans, and we never give up.

(APPLAUSE)

We never quit.

(APPLAUSE)

We never hide from history. We make history.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America.