John McCain accepted the Republican presidential nomination, echoing Democratic rival Barack Obama's campaign theme of change while vowing an end to partisan attacks, as he looked ahead to the final stretch in the historic race for the White House. Ending an eight-year quest for the party's nomination, and marking the climax of a stunning comeback for a man who almost saw his prize elude him again last year, McCain told supporters on the final day of the Republican National Convention that “change is coming” after George W. Bush's presidency. He – not Obama – would be the one to deliver that change, the veteran Arizona senator vowed. McCain's speech took a very different tone from that of his vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin the day before. She electrified the party faithful with a sarcastic attack on Obama and by lashing out at those who consider her too inexperienced to be vice president. In calling for an end to the “constant partisan rancor,” McCain looked to win over support of independents and moderate Democrats whose votes can be decisive in the presidential race. McCain must persuade Americans dissatisfied with Bush to elect another Republican to the White House with only two months remaining before the election. Within hours of accepting the nomination, McCain sent an e-mail appeal for donations arguing that he and Palin stood for reform in Washington. He also denounced “Democratic operatives” whom he said “have stooped lower than anyone could have imagined.” The dig appeared to be a reference to Palin's announcement earlier this week that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter was five months' pregnant. Palin, Alaska's governor, said Internet rumors about her family had led her to reveal her daughter's pregnancy. Palin has stayed out of reach of reporters and was expected to begin campaigning on her own this weekend. Strategists for the campaigns argued Friday that McCain and Obama would be engaged in debate over new directions for public policy, with Obama adviser David Axelrod arguing that McCain was offering the policies of the Bush administration. “Last night Sen. McCain used the word ‘change,' but the policies that he describes were very familiar,” Axelrod said on “The Early Show” on CBS. “This isn't change, this is more of the same.” The 72-year-old McCain, campaigning to become the oldest first-term president in history, presented himself as a reformer willing to take on his fellow Republicans, including an unpopular Bush – to whom he lost the presidential nomination in 2000. The former Vietnam prisoner of war, who has not always won over conservatives with his independent mindset, chastised Republicans for falling prey to the temptations of power before voters deprived them of their majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate two years ago. “We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us,” McCain said. “We lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption.” He won cheers as he closed out his remarks with a personal touch, recalling how his five years in captivity ended his cocky, self-absorbed ways and taught him that “no man can always stand alone.” “I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's,” he said. He called on Americans to join him in defending the country's ideals. “Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight,” he said. “Nothing is inevitable here. We're Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.” In a campaign in which both candidates have adopted the mantle of change, McCain was making the case that a 72-year-old with more than two decades in Washington was more likely to shake up the capital than the 47-year-old Obama, a first-term senator who is seeking to become the first black US president. McCain said in his speech that he has worked with Democrats before – often to the chagrin of Republicans – and, if elected, would continue to do so. “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. Sen. Obama does not,” he said. McCain has had to strike a difficult balance distancing himself from Bush's unpopular presidency, while not alienating the Republican base that remains loyal to the president. Only once did McCain refer to Bush directly – though not by name – when he said he was “grateful to the president for leading us” after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
