St Paul, Minnesota - John McCain will accept the Republican
Party's presidential nomination Thursday in a speech expected to
highlight his record as a reformer not afraid to oppose his own
party, while Democratic rival Barack Obama hit back at his opponent
for ignoring the concerns of ordinary voters.
McCain was to be introduced by his wife Cindy on the final night
of the Republican National Convention in St Paul, Minnesota, and will
likely draw some sharp distinctions with the unpopular presidency of
his Republican compatriot George W Bush.
'If Americans want straight talk and the plain truth they should
take a good close look at John McCain ... a man who's served in
Washington without ever becoming a Washington insider,' Cindy McCain
will say, according to excerpts of her speech released in advance.
Tom Ridge, a former Pennsylvania governor and the country's first
homeland security secretary after the September 11, 2001, attacks,
will describe McCain as a 'warrior who has sometimes stood alone,'
according to excerpts released in advance.
Obama criticized his Republican opponents on Thursday for a series
of negative attacks during the convention and too heavy a focus on
McCain's personal story as a Vietnam War veteran, while talking
little about economic issues.
'They've had a lot to say about me, but they haven't had anything
to say about you,' Obama said at a York, Pennsylvania rally.
'You haven't heard a word about how we're going to deal with any
aspect of the economy that is affecting you and your pocketbook day-
to-day,' he said.
In preparation for McCain's speech, the convention stage was
retooled and the podium extended further out into the crowd of
thousands of delegates, creating more of a townhall-style gathering,
which is famously McCain's favourite type of venue.
McCain's address follows that of his vice presidential candidate,
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who gave a fiery speech Wednesday night
that drew sharp distinctions with Obama and at time ridiculed his
lack of experience.
'I've been called worse on the basketball court. It's not that big
of a deal,' Obama said of the speech by Palin, who earned the
nickname 'Sarah Barracuda' by leading her high school basketball team
to a state championship.
Obama's campaign said her speech undermined the McCain-Palin
ticket's effort to portray themselves as candidates of change.
'The speech that Governor Palin gave was well delivered, but it
was written by George Bush's speechwriter and sounds exactly like the
same divisive, partisan attacks we've heard from George Bush for the
last eight years,' said Bill Burton, the spokesman for the Obama-Joe
Biden campaign.
Palin, who was a relatively unknown politician from one of the
least-populated US states until selected as McCain's running mate
last week, addressed delegates in what was seen as a speech to
introduce her to Americans.
More than 37 million people watched her convention speech,
according to Nielsen Media Research, only abut 1 million less than
watched Obama's acceptance speech last week.
Palin touted herself as a reformist who understands the needs of
working class families and said McCain has a track record of getting
things done - a shot at Obama's perceived lack of experience.
'In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote
their careers, and then there are those like John McCain who use
their careers to promote change,' Palin said to an enthusiastic
crowd.
USA
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