According to an article in the Seattle Times, Sarah Palin got off to a rocky start in her mayorship of Wasilla.
Sarah Palin's first year as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, could easily have been her last as she became embroiled in personnel challenges, a thwarted attempt to pack the City Council and a bitter standoff with her local newspaper. Her first months were so contentious and polarizing that critics started talking of a recall.
If her two-week hiatus in Alaska before she talks to the press is to get briefed on how to be the next Dick Cheney, I'm guessing she already has that part figured out.
From ABC's Political Punch:
Rick Davis, campaign manager for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., just told Fox News Channel's Chris Wallace that McCain running mate Gov. Sarah Palin won't subject herself to any tough questions from reporters "until the point in time when she'll be treated with respect and deference."
Davis assailed the way the media had discussed Palin and her family in the last week and said the campaign would wait until a less hostile media environment.
So when will she subject herself to questions?
"When we think it's time and when she feels comfortable doing it," Davis said.
I'm just imagining what the reaction would be if Hillary Clinton had ever said that.Davis assailed the way the media had discussed Palin and her family in the last week and said the campaign would wait until a less hostile media environment.
So when will she subject herself to questions?
"When we think it's time and when she feels comfortable doing it," Davis said.
I would love to be proven wrong, but the sad fact is that the reporters will go along with this.
After reading Bill's post, I was wondering:
Let's just say the Republicans got their way; abortion becomes illegal, and every pregnant woman has to give birth. No more worries about protecting the "babies;" they will all be born.
After the cheering settled down, how do you think these same people would react if, along with their precious "Human Life Constitutional amendment," a second amendment was passed, limiting the number of children any family may have by law to, oh, say, two. No more quivers full of arrows.
Do you think they would suddenly have an opinion on government controlling a woman's right to choose? Would these same heroic, baby-saving lawmakers suddenly become "activist judges," legislating from the bench?
From the 2008 GOP Platform (PDF):
Faithful to the first guarantee of the Declaration of Independence, we assert the inherent dignity and sanctity of all human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution, and we endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.
We oppose using public revenues to promote or perform abortion and will not fund organizations which advocate it. We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity and dignity of innocent human life.
We have made progress. The Supreme Court has upheld prohibitions against the barbaric practice of partial-birth abortion. States are now permitted to
extend health-care coverage to children before birth.
And the Born Alive Infants Protection Act has become law; this law ensures that infants who are born alive during an abortion receive all treatment and care that is provided to all newborn infants and are not neglected and left to die. We must protect girls from exploitation and statutory rape through a parental notification requirement. We all have a moral obligation to assist, not to penalize, women struggling with the challenges of an unplanned pregnancy. At its core, abortion is a fundamental assault on the sanctity of innocent human life.
We oppose using public revenues to promote or perform abortion and will not fund organizations which advocate it. We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity and dignity of innocent human life.
We have made progress. The Supreme Court has upheld prohibitions against the barbaric practice of partial-birth abortion. States are now permitted to
extend health-care coverage to children before birth.
And the Born Alive Infants Protection Act has become law; this law ensures that infants who are born alive during an abortion receive all treatment and care that is provided to all newborn infants and are not neglected and left to die. We must protect girls from exploitation and statutory rape through a parental notification requirement. We all have a moral obligation to assist, not to penalize, women struggling with the challenges of an unplanned pregnancy. At its core, abortion is a fundamental assault on the sanctity of innocent human life.
We strongly support the long-held policy of the Republican Party known as the “Mexico City policy,” which prohibits federal monies from being given to non-governmental organizations that provide abortions or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other countries. We reject any treaty or agreement that would violate those values.
That includes the UN convention on women’s rights, signed in the last months of the Carter Administration, and the UN convention on the rights of the child. For several reasons, particularly our concern for US sovereignty and America’s long-term energy needs, we have deep reservations about the regulatory, legal, and tax regimes inherent in the Law of the Sea Treaty.
To shield the members of our Armed Forces and others in service to America from ideological prosecutions, the Republican Party does not accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over Americans.
That includes the UN convention on women’s rights, signed in the last months of the Carter Administration, and the UN convention on the rights of the child. For several reasons, particularly our concern for US sovereignty and America’s long-term energy needs, we have deep reservations about the regulatory, legal, and tax regimes inherent in the Law of the Sea Treaty.
To shield the members of our Armed Forces and others in service to America from ideological prosecutions, the Republican Party does not accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over Americans.
We acknowledge and appreciate the significant contributions of all of America’s First Responders, who keep us safe and secure and who are ever ready to come to our aid. The security of our country is now everyone’s responsibility, from the Department of Homeland Security to state and local first responders, private businesses, and individual families. The fact that eighty percent of our critical infrastructure is in private hands highlights the need for public-private partnerships to safeguard it, especially in the energy industry.
Three decades ago, in a world as dangerous as today’s, Americans of all stripes came together to advance the cause of freedom. They had witnessed the wreckage of inexperienced good intentions at the highest levels of government, the folly of an amateur foreign policy. And so, in defiance of a world-wide Marxist advance, they announced a goal as enduring as the vision of Isaiah, to "proclaim liberty to the captives," and summed up America's strategy for achieving that end in a timeless slogan: Peace through strength
Three decades ago, in a world as dangerous as today’s, Americans of all stripes came together to advance the cause of freedom. They had witnessed the wreckage of inexperienced good intentions at the highest levels of government, the folly of an amateur foreign policy. And so, in defiance of a world-wide Marxist advance, they announced a goal as enduring as the vision of Isaiah, to "proclaim liberty to the captives," and summed up America's strategy for achieving that end in a timeless slogan: Peace through strength
Read the whole theocratic ideological freak show here (same link as on top, PDF). Regardless of how it burns, we need to read and know every last word, as well as know what they refuse to mention, and what's in between the lines.
And then read the Democratic Party Platform (also PDF). Here's a snippet:
We oppose the current Administration’s consistent attempts to undermine a woman’s ability to make her own life choices and obtain reproductive health care, including birth control. We will end health insurance discrimination against contraception and provide compassionate care to rape victims. We will never put ideology above women’s health.
This is not an election about a man's experiences in a POW camp 40 years ago. It's not even about a man who has allowed his party to be defined by the nation's most intolerant people because he only cares about winning. It's an election about issues.
Of course, there's one group that won't have it's own issues even brought up, except for this from the RNC:
To protect our servicemen and women and ensure that America’s Armed Forces remain the best in the world, we affirm the timelessness of those values, the benefits of traditional military culture, and the incompatibility of homosexuality with military service.
And that's the
Update: I erred on the last paragraph. From MathAvenger in comments:
From the Democratic Platform:
We support the full inclusion of all families, including same-sex couples, in the life of our nation, and support equal responsibility, benefits, and protections. We will enact a comprehensive bipartisan employment non-discrimination act. We oppose the Defense of Marriage Act and all attempts to use this issue to divide us.
We will also put national security above divisive politics. More than 12,500 service men and women have been discharged on the basis of sexual orientation since the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was implemented, at a cost of over $360 million. Many of those forced out had special skills in high demand, such as translators, engineers, and pilots. At a time when the military is having a tough time recruiting and retaining troops, it is wrong to deny our country the service of brave, qualified people. We support the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and the implementation of policies to allow qualified men and women to serve openly regardless of sexual orientation.
From the Republican Platform:
Because our children’s future is best preserved within the traditional understanding of marriage, we call for a constitutional amendment that fully protects marriage as a union of a man and a woman, so that judges cannot make other arrangements equivalent to it....Republicans have been at the forefront of protecting traditional marriage laws, both in the states and in Congress. A Republican Congress enacted the Defense of Marriage Act, affirming the right of states not to recognize same-sex “marriages” licensed in other states. Unbelievably, the Democratic Party has now pledged to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which would subject every state to the redefinition of marriage by a judge without ever allowing the people to vote on the matter. We also urge Congress to use its Article III, Section 2 power to prevent activist federal judges from imposing upon the rest of the nation the judicial activism in Massachusetts and California. We also encourage states to review their marriage and divorce laws in order to strengthen marriage.
Forcing religious groups to abandon their beliefs as applied to their hiring practices is religious discrimination. We support the First Amendment right of freedom of association of the Boy Scouts of America and other service organizations whose values are under assault, and we call upon the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reverse its policy of blacklisting religious groups which decline to arrange adoptions by same-sex couples.
--WKW
After coming back to this post, I've decided to remove it, but to leave the thread up. Apologies to anyone upset by this. -- Chet
Today, the true Olympic spirit is stronger than ever. The Paralympics Opening Ceremony is taking place in Beijing.
The opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games is under way in Beijing, with more than 4,000 athletes taking part.
Tonight's opening ceremony, according to its director Zhang Yimou, is a surreal journey in space and time which celebrates the courage and spirit of athletes with disabilities.
He says the themes being played out at the Bird's Nest stadium are dedicated to the Paralympians who inspire the whole world.
Organisers of the Paralympics have promised that these Games will be equal to the main Olympics and the opening ceremony has kicked off with a massive display of light and colour in front of some 90,000 spectators at the Bird's Nest Stadium.
Tonight's opening ceremony, according to its director Zhang Yimou, is a surreal journey in space and time which celebrates the courage and spirit of athletes with disabilities.
He says the themes being played out at the Bird's Nest stadium are dedicated to the Paralympians who inspire the whole world.
Organisers of the Paralympics have promised that these Games will be equal to the main Olympics and the opening ceremony has kicked off with a massive display of light and colour in front of some 90,000 spectators at the Bird's Nest Stadium.
I support the Paralympics 100 percent. And I'm pleased to see them in China. Because those with disabilities in China truly need some positive news and actions from their government.
From the Washington Post:
BEIJING -- In recent weeks, Beijing's brand-new airport has been able to give a special welcome to thousands of Paralympic athletes from around the world because the government spent $1.7 million to lower washbasins and handrails, add Braille signs and transform 214 toilets into the accessible variety.
But in south Beijing, a former coal miner needs a nurse to help push him up a too-steep ramp leading to his apartment building. He has trouble boarding taxis and buses and finding restaurants without steps. He can't use a public toilet.
China is trumpeting the Paralympics as a way to improve awareness and better integrate its more than 83 million disabled citizens, almost a million of whom live in Beijing. But the reality is that China's disabled are largely invisible, dissuaded from going out in public by a lack of physical access, a deficit of jobs and routine discrimination.
"I need someone to lift me into a taxi and fold the wheelchair, or carry me on his back onto a bus," said Zhi Fumao, 48, whose legs were paralyzed in a mining accident a few years ago. "Public toilets have no arm rests; I can't squat."
Every city in the world could improve its facilities for the disabled, but in China, a traditional respect for the elderly and the weak has been eroded by Communist political campaigns and an overall lack of awareness of civil rights, according to advocates for the disabled.
But in south Beijing, a former coal miner needs a nurse to help push him up a too-steep ramp leading to his apartment building. He has trouble boarding taxis and buses and finding restaurants without steps. He can't use a public toilet.
China is trumpeting the Paralympics as a way to improve awareness and better integrate its more than 83 million disabled citizens, almost a million of whom live in Beijing. But the reality is that China's disabled are largely invisible, dissuaded from going out in public by a lack of physical access, a deficit of jobs and routine discrimination.
"I need someone to lift me into a taxi and fold the wheelchair, or carry me on his back onto a bus," said Zhi Fumao, 48, whose legs were paralyzed in a mining accident a few years ago. "Public toilets have no arm rests; I can't squat."
Every city in the world could improve its facilities for the disabled, but in China, a traditional respect for the elderly and the weak has been eroded by Communist political campaigns and an overall lack of awareness of civil rights, according to advocates for the disabled.
It was kind of hard to escape my opinion on the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. It was terribly unsettling to see how the corporate world could care less about anything a nation does so long as they have open markets. And while I didn't believe the athletes should have boycotted, I was yet again struck with how the vast majority of modern-day athletes completely refuse to get involved in any type political activism. The days of Tommie Smith and Juan Carlos are gone, and we were left with China being able to ban Joey Cheeks from the games for having strong convictions, with few making much a fuss of it. If there were 100 athletes that protested China's enabling of the Sudanese government or its human rights violations, China wouldn't have been able to ban them all.
And while the Olympic athletes put on a great show, viewers were stuck with coverage that was frighteningly sexist and that cared mostly about the world-altering controversy over small Chinese gymnasts.
But that's for another day. The Paralympics and the positive changes they can bring to China are to be celebrated. I plan on marveling at the athletic prowess the 4,000 athletes bring to the field of play. And, ok, I admit it - I'm really hoping they televise some Murderball.
--WKW
Last evening on my way to dinner with friends Bob and the Old Professor, I stopped at the ATM to get some cash. The ATM is located on the side of the bank next to the driveway, and there's a parking lot on the other side of the drive. This being Friday, and with a hurricane spooling up in the Atlantic, there was a line of about four or five people waiting to use the machine, but I had no trouble finding a place to park.
As I waited in line, a large Chevy Suburban pulled up to the curb and parked in the driveway. A woman got out and got in line, leaving the behemoth in the driveway in spite of the large NO PARKING sign right next to it. I gave her an "are you kidding me?" glare, but she radiated, "I live in Pinecrest and I drive an S.U.V. So there." Everyone else in line gave her the same glare, but no one said anything.
I got my money and walked back to my station wagon. On the way to the parking lot, however, I lost my balance for a moment as I passed by the Suburban and bumped the passenger-side rearview mirror out of alignment, folding it in against the side of the truck. Oy, I am such a klutz.
(Cross-posted.)
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv642%2Fshakespeares_sister%2Fshakes3%2Fsah.png)
My commitment [is] to strive to be worthy of the example of the great men who have gone before. Presidents walk in giant footsteps. They have magnificent legacies to uphold. I stand here on this day and put my name forth, as one who aspires to their example, who will daily make that sacrifice, who will honor not just the office, but the people that office serves. Their President of these United States of America. - Sen. Arnold Vinnick accepting the Republican nomination for president.
If only.
Sorry no round-up today. Will post the pub later, but otherwise I need to step away for a bit.
Leave your links in comments.
I went to LinuxWorld in San Francisco last month. A few highlights:
Welcomed our new robotic overlords
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmolvray.com%2Facid-test%2Fimages%2Frobotic-overlord-2008-08-05-IMG_1158.JPG)
Listened to thrilling talks
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmolvray.com%2Facid-test%2Fimages%2Fthrilling-lectures-2008-08-05-IMG_1036.JPG)
Saw neat new technology. Flywheels!
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmolvray.com%2Facid-test%2Fimages%2Fflywheel-power-2008-08-07-IMG_1160.JPG)
Saw cute tiny computers. Want!
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmolvray.com%2Facid-test%2Fimages%2Fcute-small-wanted-computers-2008-08-05-IMG_1032.JPG)
Saw humongous computers.
Boxcar! Full of hundreds of blade servers!
Want!
(But will it fit in with the living room decor?)
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmolvray.com%2Facid-test%2Fimages%2Fblade-servers-inna-boxcar-2008-08-05-IMG_1028.JPG)
Welcomed our new robotic overlords
Listened to thrilling talks
Saw neat new technology. Flywheels!
Saw cute tiny computers. Want!
Saw humongous computers.
Boxcar! Full of hundreds of blade servers!
Want!
(But will it fit in with the living room decor?)
I don't normally do this, but I'm removing the content of this post, because I find it does not meet the criteria required for posts at Shakesville. It was, in my estimation, ageist and, despite a caveat, too broad a generalization. You can still find the post at Bill's blog, so you can judge for yourself whether I'm just being an asshole, which is always a distinct possibility.
The reason I didn't just delete the post is because the comment thread was already long enough I felt it would be inappropriate to disappear the thread.
My apologies to all, especially if I handled this badly.—MM
So I flip on the teevee this morning. Bad idea. I was hoping to ride my scooter to work today, and after yesterday's torrential downpour and this morning's thick clouds, I figured I'd better check the weather report. The box was still on CNN after watching McCain's drone last night, and I was greeted with this (paraphrasing here):
"Coming up: Sexism in the Presidential Campaign! Everyone is asking about Sarah Palin; her hair, her clothing, her children- but are they legitimate questions, or are they just sexist?"
I start yelling at the television; incomplete sentences ranting that suddenly the media is concerned with sexism when it's directed at a woman they like, or at least, one that conforms to their ideas of how a woman should behave. When it's directed at the woman they consider a castrating bitch harpy, that they've loathed for over a decade they can't be arsed to notice, and I dissolve into incoherent sputtering.
I ride to work in a very bad mood.
So, I pretty much hated John McCain's speech.
It was boring as all fuck, not just because McCain is a miserable orator who never manages to hit any kind of compelling rhythm, but because it was the same damn speech I've heard at every GOP convention for my entire life injected with a shot of POW, the potency of which had been thoroughly undermined by every other convention speaker having taken possession of McCain's history during their speeches. Even the video package introducing McCain talked about his being a POW. There's a not-particularly-fine line between marketing relevant and evocative personal experience and Tragedy Branding. This convention sailed over that line into farce.
It gives me no joy to say that. And it doesn't change one iota the fact that McCain's service was intrinsically brave and honorable. I'm just really mystified by the decision to use something as intimate and distressing as the details of imprisonment and torture as the primary selling point of a candidate. Which is not to suggest McCain shouldn't have talked about it himself—but doling it out to everyone else to discuss onstage on his behalf had the twofold effect of diluting its effectiveness and disconnecting McCain from his own highly personal experience.
It certainly wasn't a good design for people tuned in to lots of the convention, at minimum.
I won't pick apart much of the actual content, because, quite frankly, it's too dry and dull to require it. There are two passages I wanted to mention, though.
ONE:
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.
Immediately after the speech, Spudsy and I were on the phone talking about it, and he said he thought that was a nasty jab at Obama. Reading other reactions to the speech around the blogosphere, I see that other people had a similar reaction.When I heard it, I thought it was a jab at Bush.
Possibly this is because I've never heard Obama say anything close to what could legitimately be described as a belief he is blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed him to save our country in its hour of need.
Possibly it's because I've heard Bush and his myriad devotees say that shit about a bazillion times.
(Although, it tends to be less about history anointing him than God anointing him. Or sending him war plans, as the case may be.)
"I feel like God wants me to run for President. I can't explain it, but I sense my country is going to need me. Something is going to happen... I know it won't be easy on me or my family, but God wants me to do it."—George W. Bush
"He is one of those men God and fate somehow lead to the fore in times of challenge. I thank God that on September 11th, we had a president who didn't wring his hands and wonder what America had done wrong to deserve this attack. I thank God we had a president who understood that America was attacked, not for what we had done wrong, but for what we did right."—Former NY Gov. George Pataki
"I think President Bush is God's man at this hour, and I say this with a great sense of humility."—Former Deputy Director of the Office of Public Liaison Tim Goeglein
"If I'd won that election in 1992, my oldest son would not be president of the United States of America. I think the Lord works in mysterious ways."—George H.W. Bush
Et cetera."He is one of those men God and fate somehow lead to the fore in times of challenge. I thank God that on September 11th, we had a president who didn't wring his hands and wonder what America had done wrong to deserve this attack. I thank God we had a president who understood that America was attacked, not for what we had done wrong, but for what we did right."—Former NY Gov. George Pataki
"I think President Bush is God's man at this hour, and I say this with a great sense of humility."—Former Deputy Director of the Office of Public Liaison Tim Goeglein
"If I'd won that election in 1992, my oldest son would not be president of the United States of America. I think the Lord works in mysterious ways."—George H.W. Bush
Given the perception that McCain essentially used this speech to throw his own party under the bus, along with the Republican National Convention treating "Republican" like a dirty word and Bush like a pariah, I'm not convinced that he wasn't pointing that particular weapon in Bush's general direction.
Possibly, the line was designed as a double-edged blade—which would make it quite certainly the best line in the whole speech.
Especially because Johnny Boy evidently needs to put some real distance between himself and the Dauphin of Dipshittery.
This page contained an embedded video. Click here to view it.
Tom Brokaw: But the fact is, Governor, that you've had eight years of a Bush administration and a lot of Republicans in Congress for the last eight years, so why wouldn't the American people say, "Look, they had their shot; we're gonna change"?
Tom Ridge: Uh, because, uh, John Bush—because, uh, John McCain is very much his own man.
You sure about that, Tom?Tom Ridge: Uh, because, uh, John Bush—because, uh, John McCain is very much his own man.
TWO:
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 lived a day, in good times or bad, that I didn't thank God for the privilege. … 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. 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.
Ezra notes, quite rightly, what's wrong with the passages like this one in McCain's speech: "Such public declarations of patriotism are not about why John McCain loves this country. They are about why this country should love John McCain."That's right. We should love him because he is humble (despite what you may have heard about his being a belligerent fuckwit), and because he is decent (despite what you may have heard about his calling his wife a cunt), and because he has hard-won and tightly-held principles (despite what you may have heard about his caving on our country's torture policy and lots of other stuff), and because he is his country's eternal, unwavering servant (despite what you may have heard about his ties to lobbyists hired by corporations whose patriotism is only as strong as the dollar).
And we should vote for him because he is humble and decent and principled and devoted, too.
He's earned it, goddammit.
As I watched him tick off all the things he's done to deserve to be president, sneering: "My friends, I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not," I realized that McCain was trying to manipulate his way into the Oval Office using the same strategies as a Nice GuyTM uses to try to manipulate his way into a woman's knickers.
Don't you know what a good person I am? What—are you one of those people who likes Mr. Popular the Arugula-Chomper? Fine, whatever. You voters always complain that there are no good candidates, but here's one right in front of you, and you're still going to choose celebrity over substance. No—wait, wait. I didn't mean it. Did you know that I was a POW? It was really horrible. Please vote for me. PLEASE. No? Well, screw you then!
I'm not sure if McCain wants a vote or a pity fuck.
The biggest applause line in the whole speech was when he introduced (again) his veep pick Sarah Palin, and—considered within the context of his 1) running against his own party and 2) desperate stumbling toward a finish line just out of his reach—it was a pitiful moment for McCain, as he seemed to be simultaneously passing the torch within and resigning from a Republican Party that doesn't really want him, even on the night he's been anointed its ostensible leader.
Awwwwwkwarrrrd!
But not even awkward enough to make it interesting. Dire speech. Dreadful convention. I can think of nothing more perfect for Candidate McCain.
Here is The Maverick™ in all his glory speaking to his fellow patriotic Americas. This after a night of shamelessly using the images of 9/11 to place a little fear back in our hearts. Go McCain! Palin too! May your campaign shatter into a nonillion fragments.
The video is a full hour and I cannot bear to watch it again; once last night was enough.
Transcript below.
Thank you all very much. Tonight, I have a privilege given few Americans -- the privilege of accepting our party’s nomination for President of the United States. 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 wished to lead it to better days. Their support is an honor I won’t forget.
I’m grateful to the President for leading us in those dark days following the worst attack on American soil in our history, and keeping us safe from another attack many thought was inevitable; and to the First Lady, Laura Bush, a model of grace and kindness in public and in private. And I’m grateful to the 41st President and his bride of 63 years, and for their outstanding example of honorable service to our country.
As always, I’m indebted to my wife, Cindy, and my seven children. 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 you give me. Cindy said a lot of nice things about me tonight. But, in truth, she’s more my inspiration than I am hers. Her concern for those less blessed than we are - victims of land mines, children born in poverty and with birth defects - shows the measure of her humanity. I know she will make a great First Lady.
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 we are 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.
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. 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.
Finally, a word to Senator Obama and his supporters. We’ll go at it over the next two months. That’s the nature of these contests, and there are big differences between us. But you have my respect and admiration. Despite our differences, much more unites us than divides us. We are fellow Americans, an association that means more to me than any other. We’re dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal and endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights. 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. 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.
These are tough times for many of you. You’re worried about keeping your job or finding a new one, and are struggling to put food on the table and stay in your home. All you ever asked of government is to stand on your side, not in your way. And that’s just what I intend to do: stand on your side and fight for your future.
And I’ve found just the right partner to help me shake up Washington, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. She has 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 taken on the special interests. She’s reached across the aisle and asked Republicans, Democrats and Independents to serve in her administration. She’s the mother of five children. She’s helped run a small business, worked with her hands 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. 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. And let me offer an advance warning to the old, big spending, do nothing, me first, country second Washington crowd: change is coming.
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. We’ve got a record of doing just that, and the strength, experience, judgment and backbone to keep our word to you.
You know, I’ve been called a maverick; someone who marches to the beat of his own drum. 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.
I’ve fought corruption, and it didn’t matter if the culprits were Democrats or Republicans. They violated their public trust, and had to be held accountable. I’ve fought big spenders in both parties, who waste your money on things you neither need nor want, 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 fought crooked deals in the Pentagon. I fought tobacco companies and trial lawyers, drug companies and union bosses.
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.
Thanks to the leadership of a brilliant general, David Petraeus, and the brave men and women he has the honor to command, that strategy succeeded and rescued us from a defeat that would have demoralized our military, risked a wider war and threatened the security of all Americans.
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.
I fight for Americans. I fight for you. I fight for Bill and Sue Nebe from Farmington Hills, Michigan, who 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 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. They matter to me.
I fight for the family of Matthew Stanley of Wolfboro, New Hampshire, who 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.
I fight to restore the pride and principles of our party. We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us. 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. We’re going to recover the people’s trust by standing up again for the values Americans admire. The party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan is going to get back to basics.
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.
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 in a strong defense, work, faith, service, a culture of life, personal responsibility, the rule of law, and judges who dispense justice impartially and don’t legislate from the bench. 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.
I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them. I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them. I will cut government spending. He will increase it.
My tax cuts will create jobs. His tax increases will eliminate them. 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 stands between you and your doctor.
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 moving overseas. Doubling the child tax exemption from $3500 to $7000 will improve the lives of millions of American families. 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. 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 seems your government hasn’t even noticed. Government assistance for unemployed workers was designed for the economy of the 1950s. That’s going to change on my watch. 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.
We will prepare them for the jobs of today. We will use our community colleges to help train people for new opportunities in their communities. 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 retraining that will help them find secure new employment at a decent wage.
Education is the civil rights issue of this century. Equal access to public education has been gained. But what is the value of access to a failing school? We need to shake up failed school bureaucracies with competition, empower parents with choice, remove barriers to qualified instructors, attract and reward good teachers, and help bad teachers find another line of work.
When a public school 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. Some may choose a better public school. Some may choose a private one. Many will choose a charter school. But they will have that choice and their children will have that opportunity.
Senator Obama wants our schools to answer to unions and entrenched bureaucracies. I want schools to answer to parents and students. And when I’m President, they will.
My fellow Americans, when I’m President, we’re going to embark on the most ambitious national project in decades. We are going to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don’t like us very much. We will attack the problem on every front. We will produce more energy at home. We will drill new wells offshore, and we’ll drill them now. We will build more nuclear power plants. We will develop clean coal technology. We will increase the use of wind, tide, solar and natural gas. We will encourage the development and use of flex fuel, hybrid and electric automobiles.
Senator Obama thinks we can achieve energy independence without more drilling and without more nuclear power. But Americans know better than that. We must use all resources and develop all technologies necessary to rescue our economy from the damage caused by rising oil prices and to restore the health of our planet. It’s an ambitious plan, but Americans are ambitious by nature, and we have faced greater challenges. It’s time for us to show the world again how Americans lead.
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, 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 a serious blow to al Qaeda in recent years. But they are not defeated, and they’ll strike us again if they can. Iran remains the chief state sponsor of terrorism and 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 reassembling the Russian empire. And the brave people of Georgia need our solidarity and prayers. As President, I will work to establish good relations with Russia so we need not fear a return of 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 threats in this dangerous world, but I'm not afraid of them. I'm prepared for them. I know how the military works, what it can do, what it can do better, and what it should not 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. I know how to secure the peace.
When I was five 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 is 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.
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.
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 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. I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again. I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not.
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 can do anything we put our minds to. I will ask Democrats and Independents to serve with me. And my administration will set a new standard for transparency and accountability.
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.
I’ve been an imperfect servant of my country for many years. But I have been her servant first, last and always. And I’ve never lived a day, in good times or bad, that I didn’t thank God for the privilege.
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, 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. 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 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. 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. 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.
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 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 worse than I did. I’d been mistreated before, but not as badly as 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, 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 our country and for the men I had the honor to serve with. Because every day they fought for me.
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. 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.
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. 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.
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 in our Armed Forces. Become a teacher. Enter the ministry. Run for public office. Feed a hungry child. Teach 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.
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, strong faith and a little courage, great things are always within our reach. Fight with me. Fight with me.
Fight for what’s right for our country.
Fight for the ideals and character of a free people.
Fight for our children’s future.
Fight for justice and opportunity for all.
Stand up to defend our country from its enemies.
Stand up for each other; for beautiful, blessed, bountiful America.
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.
Thank you, and God Bless you.
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 wished to lead it to better days. Their support is an honor I won’t forget.
I’m grateful to the President for leading us in those dark days following the worst attack on American soil in our history, and keeping us safe from another attack many thought was inevitable; and to the First Lady, Laura Bush, a model of grace and kindness in public and in private. And I’m grateful to the 41st President and his bride of 63 years, and for their outstanding example of honorable service to our country.
As always, I’m indebted to my wife, Cindy, and my seven children. 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 you give me. Cindy said a lot of nice things about me tonight. But, in truth, she’s more my inspiration than I am hers. Her concern for those less blessed than we are - victims of land mines, children born in poverty and with birth defects - shows the measure of her humanity. I know she will make a great First Lady.
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 we are 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.
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. 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.
Finally, a word to Senator Obama and his supporters. We’ll go at it over the next two months. That’s the nature of these contests, and there are big differences between us. But you have my respect and admiration. Despite our differences, much more unites us than divides us. We are fellow Americans, an association that means more to me than any other. We’re dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal and endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights. 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. 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.
These are tough times for many of you. You’re worried about keeping your job or finding a new one, and are struggling to put food on the table and stay in your home. All you ever asked of government is to stand on your side, not in your way. And that’s just what I intend to do: stand on your side and fight for your future.
And I’ve found just the right partner to help me shake up Washington, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. She has 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 taken on the special interests. She’s reached across the aisle and asked Republicans, Democrats and Independents to serve in her administration. She’s the mother of five children. She’s helped run a small business, worked with her hands 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. 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. And let me offer an advance warning to the old, big spending, do nothing, me first, country second Washington crowd: change is coming.
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. We’ve got a record of doing just that, and the strength, experience, judgment and backbone to keep our word to you.
You know, I’ve been called a maverick; someone who marches to the beat of his own drum. 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.
I’ve fought corruption, and it didn’t matter if the culprits were Democrats or Republicans. They violated their public trust, and had to be held accountable. I’ve fought big spenders in both parties, who waste your money on things you neither need nor want, 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 fought crooked deals in the Pentagon. I fought tobacco companies and trial lawyers, drug companies and union bosses.
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.
Thanks to the leadership of a brilliant general, David Petraeus, and the brave men and women he has the honor to command, that strategy succeeded and rescued us from a defeat that would have demoralized our military, risked a wider war and threatened the security of all Americans.
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.
I fight for Americans. I fight for you. I fight for Bill and Sue Nebe from Farmington Hills, Michigan, who 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 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. They matter to me.
I fight for the family of Matthew Stanley of Wolfboro, New Hampshire, who 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.
I fight to restore the pride and principles of our party. We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us. 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. We’re going to recover the people’s trust by standing up again for the values Americans admire. The party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan is going to get back to basics.
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.
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 in a strong defense, work, faith, service, a culture of life, personal responsibility, the rule of law, and judges who dispense justice impartially and don’t legislate from the bench. 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.
I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them. I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them. I will cut government spending. He will increase it.
My tax cuts will create jobs. His tax increases will eliminate them. 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 stands between you and your doctor.
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 moving overseas. Doubling the child tax exemption from $3500 to $7000 will improve the lives of millions of American families. 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. 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 seems your government hasn’t even noticed. Government assistance for unemployed workers was designed for the economy of the 1950s. That’s going to change on my watch. 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.
We will prepare them for the jobs of today. We will use our community colleges to help train people for new opportunities in their communities. 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 retraining that will help them find secure new employment at a decent wage.
Education is the civil rights issue of this century. Equal access to public education has been gained. But what is the value of access to a failing school? We need to shake up failed school bureaucracies with competition, empower parents with choice, remove barriers to qualified instructors, attract and reward good teachers, and help bad teachers find another line of work.
When a public school 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. Some may choose a better public school. Some may choose a private one. Many will choose a charter school. But they will have that choice and their children will have that opportunity.
Senator Obama wants our schools to answer to unions and entrenched bureaucracies. I want schools to answer to parents and students. And when I’m President, they will.
My fellow Americans, when I’m President, we’re going to embark on the most ambitious national project in decades. We are going to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don’t like us very much. We will attack the problem on every front. We will produce more energy at home. We will drill new wells offshore, and we’ll drill them now. We will build more nuclear power plants. We will develop clean coal technology. We will increase the use of wind, tide, solar and natural gas. We will encourage the development and use of flex fuel, hybrid and electric automobiles.
Senator Obama thinks we can achieve energy independence without more drilling and without more nuclear power. But Americans know better than that. We must use all resources and develop all technologies necessary to rescue our economy from the damage caused by rising oil prices and to restore the health of our planet. It’s an ambitious plan, but Americans are ambitious by nature, and we have faced greater challenges. It’s time for us to show the world again how Americans lead.
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, 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 a serious blow to al Qaeda in recent years. But they are not defeated, and they’ll strike us again if they can. Iran remains the chief state sponsor of terrorism and 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 reassembling the Russian empire. And the brave people of Georgia need our solidarity and prayers. As President, I will work to establish good relations with Russia so we need not fear a return of 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 threats in this dangerous world, but I'm not afraid of them. I'm prepared for them. I know how the military works, what it can do, what it can do better, and what it should not 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. I know how to secure the peace.
When I was five 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 is 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.
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.
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 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. I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again. I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not.
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 can do anything we put our minds to. I will ask Democrats and Independents to serve with me. And my administration will set a new standard for transparency and accountability.
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.
I’ve been an imperfect servant of my country for many years. But I have been her servant first, last and always. And I’ve never lived a day, in good times or bad, that I didn’t thank God for the privilege.
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, 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. 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 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. 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. 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.
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 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 worse than I did. I’d been mistreated before, but not as badly as 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, 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 our country and for the men I had the honor to serve with. Because every day they fought for me.
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. 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.
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. 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.
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 in our Armed Forces. Become a teacher. Enter the ministry. Run for public office. Feed a hungry child. Teach 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.
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, strong faith and a little courage, great things are always within our reach. Fight with me. Fight with me.
Fight for what’s right for our country.
Fight for the ideals and character of a free people.
Fight for our children’s future.
Fight for justice and opportunity for all.
Stand up to defend our country from its enemies.
Stand up for each other; for beautiful, blessed, bountiful America.
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.
Thank you, and God Bless you.
Josh Marshall solves the mystery of the pictures on the screen behind John McCain as he gave his speech last night.
A lot of people were asking tonight: what the hell was that mansion up behind John McCain tonight during the first part of the speech? As I noted below, the TV close-ups only showed McCain's head against the grass in the picture, which made it look like he was reprising his famed green screen performance. And when they panned out, it looked like McCain was showing off one of his mansions.
Well, several readers have written in to tell me that the building is actually the main building on the campus of the Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, California. And sure enough, this page on the school's website makes it pretty clear that they're correct.
So it's not a mansion, but a middle school. But that still doesn't answer the question of why they picked this picture to have him standing in front of -- when I would imagine that 99.9% of the US population would have no idea what they were looking at.
Late Update: I'm surprised this hadn't occurred to me. But several readers have suggested that perhaps one of the tech geeks charged with setting up the audio/visual bells and whistles for the evening was tasked with getting pictures of Walter Reed Army Medical Center but goofed and got this instead. At first I thought, No, that's ridiculous. This is a major political party with big time professionals putting this together. Nothing is left to chance. I mean, is this the RNC or a scene out Spinal Tap or Waiting for Guffman? I still have a bit of a hard time believing they're quite that incompetent. But when you figure in what appears to be the utter lack of any logic for this school being behind McCain and the fact that it has 'Walter Reed' in its name, I'm really not sure you can discount this possibility.
Are these the same geeks that got Mr. McCain the maps of Czechoslovakia and the Iraq/Pakistan border?Well, several readers have written in to tell me that the building is actually the main building on the campus of the Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, California. And sure enough, this page on the school's website makes it pretty clear that they're correct.
So it's not a mansion, but a middle school. But that still doesn't answer the question of why they picked this picture to have him standing in front of -- when I would imagine that 99.9% of the US population would have no idea what they were looking at.
Late Update: I'm surprised this hadn't occurred to me. But several readers have suggested that perhaps one of the tech geeks charged with setting up the audio/visual bells and whistles for the evening was tasked with getting pictures of Walter Reed Army Medical Center but goofed and got this instead. At first I thought, No, that's ridiculous. This is a major political party with big time professionals putting this together. Nothing is left to chance. I mean, is this the RNC or a scene out Spinal Tap or Waiting for Guffman? I still have a bit of a hard time believing they're quite that incompetent. But when you figure in what appears to be the utter lack of any logic for this school being behind McCain and the fact that it has 'Walter Reed' in its name, I'm really not sure you can discount this possibility.
(Cross-posted.)
The tone of this article in the New York Times, "Obama Camp Turns to Clinton to Counter Palin," is appalling, starting with the ridiculous caption on the photo, "Senator Barack Obama, who campaigned on Thursday in Lancaster, Pa., will send female surrogates to swing states," and followed immediately by the similarly absurd opening paragraph:
Senator Barack Obama will increasingly lean on prominent Democratic women to undercut Gov. Sarah Palin and Senator John McCain, dispatching Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to Florida on Monday and bolstering his plan to deploy female surrogates to battleground states, Obama advisers said Thursday.
Oh, will he, now? Who knew he had a squadron of femdroid slaves waiting in suspended animation to be dispatched at his command?Now, you know, part of this is a problem with the Obama campaign and the Democratic Party, who are both treating the most prominent women in the party like scullery maids, directed to clean up messes that wouldn't exist if only those same women (and one in particular) had been treated with more respect in the first place. So there's that.
But beyond that, this is a real hack job by the Times, framing this situation in the worst way possible. The Times doesn't have to sugarcoat the Dems' woman problem to nonetheless avoid fortifying the stereotype that women in politics are nothing more than useful tools. By using language that casts them as servants at Obama's disposal and as dependable workhorses on whom Obama can "lean," the Times seemingly goes out of its way to reinforce the divisive narrative.
Look at the difference a little rewriting makes: "Prominent Democratic women will be providing Senator Barack Obama with key support next week, as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Florida and other notable female players will make appearances in battleground states to undercut Gov. Sarah Palin and Senator John McCain, Obama advisors said Thursday."
See that? Same facts—except instead of women being cast as obedient lapdogs, they are described in a way that suggests they are lending essential support on their own terms, as valued colleagues.
(Which, let's be honest, is a lot closer to what we all think of Hillary Clinton. Even people who loathe her know she is no one's obsequious genuflector; that's usually the primary reason they despise her.)
The Times had an opportunity to tell this story fairly, but chose instead to cast distinguished Democratic women as subservient minions. Something tells me we're just not done humiliating Hillary Clinton yet.
I suspect we never will be.
My brother reads and occasionally participates in a drag racing forum that is populated with a number of right-wingers. One participant summed it up John McCain's speech last night (copied verbatim):
Was it just me, or did mccain just kick bush and most of the republican platform to the curb? He went on and on about change, but the change is a change from his party, which has been in control of the whitehouse the last 8 years, the house for something like 5 or 6, the senate for the same, and the supreme court for all 8 years. So if he's changing away from bush and his party, what's he changing to? Is he gonna be a democrat?
I couldn't have asked it better.
Last of the red hot convention analysis: My review of John McCain's Big Speech for The Guardian's Comment is free America, "John McCain's fight club," is now up.
Almost immediately [after McCain begins speaking], a protestor unfurls a "McCain Votes Against Vets" sign. He shouts. The audience chants "USA!" to drown him out.
McCain tells us that, even though they disagree, he respects Obama, because they "are fellow Americans, an association that means more to me than any other." Given that I'm married to an immigrant who is not a citizen (but who signed a paper agreeing to be first drafted to fight for this country for the privilege of living here), making half my family non-Americans, I'm rather unimpressed with that. Sometimes there are things more important than which country issues your goddamned passport, buddy. In a nation of immigrants, I can't be the only person annoyed by that line.
A Code Pink protester begins to yell and is shouted down by chants of "USA!", then escorted out. So much for that meaningful association with Americans he disagrees with.
Read the whole thing here.
McCain tells us that, even though they disagree, he respects Obama, because they "are fellow Americans, an association that means more to me than any other." Given that I'm married to an immigrant who is not a citizen (but who signed a paper agreeing to be first drafted to fight for this country for the privilege of living here), making half my family non-Americans, I'm rather unimpressed with that. Sometimes there are things more important than which country issues your goddamned passport, buddy. In a nation of immigrants, I can't be the only person annoyed by that line.
A Code Pink protester begins to yell and is shouted down by chants of "USA!", then escorted out. So much for that meaningful association with Americans he disagrees with.
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv642%2Fshakespeares_sister%2Fshakesville%2Fshakesquilltag.png)
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv642%2Fshakespeares_sister%2Fshakes2%2Flpnew.png)
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv642%2Fshakespeares_sister%2Freusables%2Fadvlib.png)
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv642%2Fshakespeares_sister%2Fshakesville%2Fdisqbutton.png)
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.feedburner.com%2Ffb%2Fimages%2Fpub%2Ffbapix.gif)
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.leftyblogs.com%2Fbutton.gif)
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogburst.com%2FResources%2FImages%2Fblogburst_80x15.gif%3Fid%3DB8r5Q4p71ocj5n4BxtnqOhe)
