September 05, 2008

SEN. JOHN McCAIN: 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—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 to the values Americans admire. The party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan is going to get back to basics.

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.

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. We believe—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—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 healthcare plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good healthcare insurance; his plan will force small businesses to cut jobs, reduce wages and force families into a government-run healthcare system where a bureaucrat—where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor. […]

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 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.

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. 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. 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.

Education—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—we need to shake up failed school bureaucracies with competition, empower parents with choice. Let’s 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, 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. 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.

Senator Obama wants our schools to answer to unions and entrenched bureaucrats. I want schools to answer to parents and students.