John McCain’s Convention Speech

By Stan Lerner

  My friends and fellow citizens I am profoundly honored and humbled to accept your nomination for the Presidency of the United States of America.

            In 1789, our nation elected its first President—George Washington. A man called the purest figure in history. An extraordinary man that made it possible for ordinary men to rule. Ordinary men, meaning: all of us, a government elected by the people for the people, that follows the will of the majority, but does not betray it’s responsibility to the minority, to the poor, to the old, to the sick, to the weak, and to the immigrant.

            Our fist leader’s pre-eminent service to our great country has a place in history that will never be equaled, but should always be studied and emulated. A man educated at home. A planter who loved the land. A leader of men into battle. The wealthiest man of a nation struggling to be born that heard the call of its people and answered it literally riding in front of his troops on a white horse—encamping with them during the freezing winters in Valley Forge.

There were many great men of this generation, one can only be humbled by hearing their names, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklyn and many more. They came together to elect a President not based on royal lineage. And not based on rhetoric or hyperbole. The people of the United States and the founding fathers came together to elect a leader that was not only qualified, but the most qualified to lead a nation at its first crossroads. A nation by its democratic nature that will always be at a crossroads—because we are free.

In our free nation, that so many have sacrificed for, for more than two hundred and thirty-two years, we are free to think as we like and we are free to speak our thoughts. Incredible freedoms that should never be taken for granted…But with these freedoms comes an incredible individual responsibility. A free mind must be responsible to itself. It must find happiness in its own internal framework—Americans, since the founding fathers, have not only embraced this responsibility they have cherished it.

So, let us not talk politics tonight, but rather speak the truth, let’s talk straight…because the foundation of our freedom is, and has always been, based on our own individual intellectual honesty.

Today the United States of America stands alone as the wealthiest and most productive country in the history of mankind. Today, the United States of America stands alone as the greatest military power the world has ever known. Today, our old alliances with England, Germany, and France are not weak, they are strong…And our support of democracy around the globe has created new allies out of countries once ruled by an evil empire. Today, the Unites States of America has the strongest government on earth.   This is the undeniable truth of our great country. But we can do better—

With greatness comes the challenge of greatness. Americans never settle for the status quo. Americans never say that things are good enough. Americans reach for the stars and even when we fall short—we try again.

It is however, incumbent on us to discuss the times when we fall short. These are the times when we question ourselves. These are the times that we rightfully question those who have been entrusted with the public welfare. This is how we make our country better. We should always remember that history has shown us that when we have fallen short it is not because we have failed to move forward, but rather we have drifted from the principles of our founding fathers, the very foundation of our greatness.

Today our country, as successful as it is, is falling short in some areas. But make no mistake about it, the solutions to our problems will not come from drifting further away from the core values that have brought us to such lofty heights. The solutions will not come from more government and less freedom. America’s challenges will be met when the government gets out of the way of the people and let’s Americans do what they do best—succeed.

For Americans to do what they do best, our country must be safe. The safety of the public is, first and foremost, the responsibility of the Commander and Chief—the President. My fellow Americans, I have personally faced the enemies of freedom…and if you see fit to elect me as your President you can be assured that the resolve to never let our enemies prevail in their quest to destroy our way of life permeates my body and my soul.

In the 1990’s those entrusted with the safety of America failed to recognize and act against the gathering threat of Islamic Fundamentalism. On September 11^th, 2001 the greatest attack in the history of our country took place. Many of those responsible have been brought to justice…and many have not. The blood of our brothers and sisters stains the hands of these men. They once lived and made their plans openly. Now they cower in caves and under rocks, but they still plan—their thirst for more blood unquenched. Let me say this plainly. As President, there will be no place far enough, no cave deep enough, no rock large enough, for these men to hide from the long arm of justice. These mass murderers will answer for their crimes.

Our country leads the world in creative thought and in science. But the same education system that produces the brightest minds in the world is failing many others. It is expedient to say that this problem is due to a lack of resources, but this is simply not the case. The Federal Government is spending 500 billion dollars a year on education. Can we build new schools? Yes. Can we pay those who educate our children more? Yes. But no matter how grand the buildings or how good the teachers, we will not fulfill our responsibility to educate students properly until we provide a standardized curriculum to our schools that has been created by the best minds of today for the better minds of tomorrow. As President I will do this.

With a curriculum developed that guarantees that a student in Detroit is getting the same opportunity to learn as the student in Beverly Hills I will make it the government’s priority to put a laptop computer in the hands of each and every student so that they may have equal access to their lessons. Every school classroom will be networked and today’s teachers will be able to work with their students, not to achieve passing grades, but true mastery of subject matter. And from this mastery of subject matter will come the next generation of creative thought, math, and science.

I support a parents’ right to choose the appropriate school for their child. So, we must give parents school vouchers. This will not be the ruin of public education; it will be the catalyst for a golden age of public education. Because where there is competition there is innovation.

My friends, I believe in testing, but testing is not learning. And learning how to take a test is not education. And an education system that forces teachers to teach test taking is not an education system—it is a factory. Let us come together, to once again create a culture that values education. Let us come together to instill the students of this generation with the same thirst for knowledge that generations before them have had. And let’s ask our schools to be accountable, but not at the expense of the learning experience. 

The wealth of America is immense; though it has never been and never will be evenly distributed. The poor strive to be rich and the rich strive for more wealth if they so choose—this is the American way. It is not the government’s role to distribute or redistribute wealth. Rather, the government should be frugal with the people’s money and work diligently to ensure that all who seek to better their standard of living in this country have the opportunity to do so. To this end, as President, I will work to cut the top federal income tax rate to 20%. I will ask Congress to permanently eliminate both the death tax and capital gains. With more money in the hands of people and not the government, our economy will grow. And we will pay off our national debt.

If the tax and spending cuts I will ask Congress to approve are not enough to stimulate growth, balance our budget and pay off our debt, I will ask for a temporary national sales tax of 2.5%. It is time that the government meets its fiscal responsibilities with the same integrity that it asks its citizens to. We must balance the budget and pay off our debt. As President I will do this.

In the last eight years personal home ownership achieved an all-time high…More Americans own homes today than ever before. Homeownership is indeed one of the most important factors in the creation of personal wealth, however many homes were bought by people who could not truly afford them. This is a personal tragedy for many Americans and a great burden to our economy. The government and the American people must not allow legitimate markets to become corrupted by moneychangers and speculators. We must resolve ourselves to the fact that real wealth is not created by speculation with other people’s money, but through the production of quality goods and services. As President I will seek to limit regulations on business, but I will aggressively seek to regulate out of existence the practices that allow the corruption of our markets.

America consumes a great deal of energy. To this end we must explore and drill for oil responsibly, wherever possible. Increased oil production today is a necessity but it is only a temporary measure to meet our needs while we bring the full resources of private enterprise and the government together to develop the alternative energy resources that will completely replace our dependency on oil in the next twenty years. As President I will ask Congress to approve an energy bill that includes 500 billion dollars of new spending on alternative energies. When a consensus has been reached as to whether the cars of the future will run on natural gas, electricity, hydrogen, or a fuel type not yet even conceived, the government will be prepared to support the implementation of how this energy is to be distributed—quickly and in mass.

In the period of transition we are now entering, from fossil fuel to renewable energy sources, we must all come together to double our conservation efforts. As President I will ask Congress to raise mileage standards on all new vehicles and to make energy efficient light bulbs the law. And we will rebuild the nations power grid so that it is more efficient and more reliable. With the federal government taking the lead I will ask governors to double the efforts of their states. States in the sunbelt should build new homes with solar roofs and states where there is wind must mandate wind power. As President I will not approach alternative energy and energy conservation as a business opportunity, but as a matter of national security.

As part of our energy and conservation plan we must also undertake an entirely new approach to the nations water supply. Make no mistake; America’s water supply is every bit as important as our other natural resources. As President I will ask the Army Corps of Engineers to design, and we will build a national water grid. Working together, the country that put a man on the moon, will put an end to droughts and flooding.

For the safety of our country, the education of our children, a responsible and comprehensive energy program, the stewardship of our economy to still higher levels of prosperity, intelligent management of our natural resources, and real solutions for fixing social security and a health care system that offers the best care in the world, but at too high of a price. You may hold me accountable. 

With much to do, I am fortunate to be joined by the next Vice President of America, Sarah Palin. Sarah is a successful wife, mother of five, and Governor of the Great State of Alaska. Sarah is a fiscal conservative and a proven reformer with an approval rating among the people of her state in excess of 80%…A well-spoken young man recently said, “Change doesn’t come from Washington, it comes to Washington.” Well, I agree—and I actually did something about it. Sarah Palin is coming to Washington…Sarah is young, but trust me when I tell you she has the strength of Golda Meir and the good sense and dignity of Margaret Thatcher—she has what it takes to lead America into the twenty-first century.

Soon we will leave this room and begin the final leg of a long campaign. This will not be easy. My opponent, Barack Obama, is a skilled orator. His charisma attracts crowds and his words intoxicate many listeners…But they are empty words.

Barack Obama speaks of change yet offers no real change. What he does offer in the most eloquent way, are the old failed ideas of socialism. If the automobile industry suffers because it is not making the cars that the public wants, he proposes that the government will somehow come in and show them how to make fuel-efficient vehicles. Healthcare costs too high? Barack Obama says that the government is somehow going to automate the industry. Taxes? Barack Obama wants to take the money from companies that he decides are making too much and redistribute it. More taxes? Barack Obama wants to take the money from individual Americans that he decides are making too much and redistribute it. Let me be perfectly clear, the change that Barack Obama is advocating is not real change, but a change back to a way of thinking that did not work in the Soviet Union, Cuba, or Communist China.     

Barack Obama and his surrogates spent most of their convention trying to redefine, me. They did this because they cannot define their own candidate. And let me give you an example as to why:

Barack Obama, stood in front of 80,000 people and said that because Franklyn Delano Roosevelt and John F, Kennedy were democrats that the Democratic Party could be trusted to keep the people of this country safe…But the Democratic Party is not entrusted with the safety of the American public—the President is. Barack Obama equates himself, because he is a democrat, to Presidents Roosevelt and Kennedy? Friends, President Roosevelt prior to becoming the Commander and Chief had been the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. President Kennedy had received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his display of courage during World War II…Barack Obama is no Roosevelt and he is no Kennedy. And any attempt at comparison is not the audacity of hope but just audacity.

Tonight, America is, as it often is, at a crossroads. We are a great country, but there is much work to do. Work that I have had a lifetime of experience to prepare me for. I have had the honor of leading brave men into battle and I have suffered at the hands of our enemies. The people of the great state of Arizona sent me to Congress and I did the job I was sent to Washington to do—and because I had a job to do, I never hesitated to reach across the aisle to get the job done.

Tonight, and for the next two months I am going to ask all Americans to put aside their partisan differences. I am going to ask Republicans and Democrats alike to not vote based on party, race, gender, or likeability—there is too much at stake. Our economy is strong but it is not yet the economy it needs to be for success in the twenty-first century. We are a country at war, with enemies intent on the taking of as many innocent American lives as possible—and committed to the end our way of life. So, I ask every American to ask themselves honestly, “who is the most qualified to be President?” My fellow Americans I’m asking for your vote.

Thank you! Good night and God Bless the United States of America!