[StBernard] Remarks by John McCain

[Westley Annis]

Remarks by John McCain 


November 5, 2008


Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this
beautiful Arizona evening. 

My friends, we have -- we have come to the end of a long journey. The
American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. A little while
ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him on
being elected the next president of the country that we both love.

In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success
alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he
managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who
had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence
in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and
commend him for achieving.

This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it
has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs
tonight.

I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the
industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too. But we both
recognize that though we have come a long way from the old injustices that
once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full
blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to
wound.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T.
Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many
quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry
of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an
African American to the presidency of the United States. Let there be no
reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this,
the greatest nation on Earth. 

Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I
applaud him for it, and offer in my sincere sympathy that his beloved
grandmother did not live to see this day, though our faith assures us she is
at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she
helped raise.

Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has
prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain. These are difficult
times for our country, and I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to
help him lead us through the many challenges we face.

I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating
him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to
find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises, to bridge our
differences, and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a
dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better
country than we inherited.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me
when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that. 

It is natural tonight to feel some disappointment, but tomorrow we must move
beyond it and work together to get our country moving again. We fought as
hard as we could.

And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours.

I am so deeply grateful to all of you for the great honor of your support
and for all you have done for me. I wish the outcome had been different, my
friends. The road was a difficult one from the outset. But your support and
friendship never wavered. I cannot adequately express how deeply indebted I
am to you.

I am especially grateful to my wife, Cindy, my children, my dear mother and
all my family and to the many old and dear friends who have stood by my side
through the many ups and downs of this long campaign. I have always been a
fortunate man, and never more so for the love and encouragement you have
given me.

You know, campaigns are often harder on a candidate's family than on the
candidate, and that's been true in this campaign. All I can offer in
compensation is my love and gratitude, and the promise of more peaceful
years ahead. 

I am also, of course, very thankful to Governor Sarah Palin, one of the best
campaigners I have ever seen and an impressive new voice in our party for
reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength. Her
husband Todd and their five beautiful children with their tireless
dedication to our cause, and the courage and grace they showed in the
rough-and-tumble of a presidential campaign. We can all look forward with
great interest to her future service to Alaska, the Republican Party and our
country. 

To all my campaign comrades, from Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt and Mark
Salter, to every last volunteer who fought so hard and valiantly month after
month in what at times seemed to be the most challenged campaign in modern
times, thank you so much. A lost election will never mean more to me than
the privilege of your faith and friendship.

I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I'll
leave that to others to determine. Every candidate makes mistakes, and I'm
sure I made my share of them. But I won't spend a moment of the future
regretting what might have been.

This campaign was and will remain the great honor of my life. And my heart
is filled with nothing but gratitude for the experience and to the American
people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Senator Obama and
my old friend Senator Joe Biden should have the honor of leading us for the
next four years.

I would not be an American worthy of the name, should I regret a fate that
has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a
half a century. Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the
country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing
enough for anyone and I thank the people of Arizona for it. 

Tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this
country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Senator
Obama, I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my
president.

And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not
despair of our present difficulties but to believe always in the promise and
greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.

Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history, we
make history. 

Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very
much.