McCain's Concession speech.... it's worth repeating and may end up in historical textbooks

[RollWithIt]

Of course, if it's in those textbooks, it will only appear towards the beginning of a LONG section on Obama.

A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him.

(BOOING)

Please.

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 frightful 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 ... 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 him 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

[Dinger]

1. I'll Say It . . .

That was a great speech, even if it was by mccain.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. It was the best speech of his campaign

[GoneOffShore]

3. Except it wasn't - It was only delivered by McCain.

[davidinalameda]

4. I liked it as well

[Historic NY]

5. McCaIN 2000.

[Arkana]

6. It was like watching Darth Vader vanish to be replaced, once more,

by Anakin Skywalker.

[DeepModem Mom]

7. K&R

[Indiana_Dem]

8. Yes, I will give him that. It was the best speech he gave. eom

[Hanse]

9. It was lipstick on a pig.

It has no place in a history book, as it was representative of nothing.

[political_Dem]

10. But, his concession speech quite ironic when he stood by and let the vitriol fly

enough to attack Mr. Obama's character during the campaign. The photographic evidence of not even looking Mr. Obama in the eye during the debates cannot be forgotten as well.

That's why I see that speech is a "cover your behind" move so that people will look a little kindly on this manipulator's legacy. The same thing was done when he told that one supporter during his town hall meeting, that Mr. Obama wasn't an Arab, but a kind, decent man (which also reflects bias as well).

It is hard not to forget that this man also kept on saying repetitiously how inexperienced Mr. Obama was. Not to mention, he did his best in the campaign commercials to de-humanize Mr. Obama and people of color so much so that it helped the Southern Strategy. I will not forget "that one". I will not forget the fact that he forgot Oliver Clark's name at the second debate as well as the fact that he said that Mr. Clark "didn't know about Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac". I will also not forget how he treated Mr. Obama as if he were his shoe-shine boy in many occasions. Furthermore, I will not forget his racism against Asian Americans. And I certainly won't forget his reluctance to vote for a holiday honoring Dr. King. Most of all, I will not ever forget him asking Mr. Obama to repudiate Congressman Lewis for describing the McCain/Palin rallies as similar to those conducted by George Wallace.

With all that being said, I wonder what he is trying to do now to stop the racist death threats against his former opponent. Has he helped the secret service put a stop to these perpetrators? And where was his denouncement against Palin for those "hate rallies"? After all, he's supposed to be on this path towards redemption, right?

Until he publicly shows proof that he is more remorseful than a speech, he doesn't deserve any credit.

[Raschel]

14. I agree with you totally! I won't forget either.

[Phredicles]

11. If his campaign had been as classy as that speech, Obama would still

have won, in my opinion, but we'd be much better off as a country. And most people would have a much better opinion of McCain. As it is, I'm inclined to agree with the "lipstick on a pig" sentiment from upthread.

[jberryhill]

22. I'm inclined to agree - and it was probably the reason for the Palin pick

His folks probably knew that a better tone and a better VP pick would have only made his margin of loss smaller, so they went for the three-point shot.

[SwampG8r]

12. sadly

these are the words of the true mccain
the mccain that was hidden by his gop handlers

by sadly i mean that he was refused the ability to move his party in a better direction

well said john mccain of 2000
glad to see you are still around somewhere

[Zombie2]

13. I think Obama wrote that speech for McLame.....

then backstage they told him "You've just been PUNKED!"

[Name removed]

15. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[hvn_nbr_2]

16. Ironically, if he'd campaigned as he conceded, he'd have been a stronger candidate.

Whether or not the "old McCain" was real, that was the McCain that people liked and respected. The basest appeal to the Puke base alienated many who would have voted for him.

[terrya]

18. I absolutely agree with you there.

Had the voters seen THAT McCain, he would have done better. I don't know if he would have won, but he would have been a stronger candidate.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

19. Even Obama would have had a hard run against the real McCain

instead of the fraudulent, manipulated fool he showed himself to be in this year's campaign. Ambition can definitely corrupt the soul, and surely did in Grampy's case.

[ThatsMyBarack]

17. I was just glad that....

We didn't have to wait a whole lot longer for it. He gave that speech only about an hour after Obama was elected the 44th POTUS! :patriot:

[PresidentObama]

20. McCain didn't heal the wounds he caused but this was a great speech and historic concession speech n

[jberryhill]

23. I'd be interested to see if he puts any effort into healing those wounds

Otherwise, I don't think he redeemed himself here.

[jberryhill]

21. "the special pride that must be theirs tonight"

The one clunker in there was his use of the word "theirs".

Even if one reduces the election down to "we finally elected a black person", that observation makes this white guy pretty proud of all Americans.

For the non-politically-obsessed folks who voted for McCain for various reasons - war record, "experience", whatever - I've heard from more than a few of them who are just as pleased of what we as a country demonstrated in this election.

[mkultra]

24. we should also mention the great speeches hillafry has made

many of them will be taught in schools for years to come.
18 MILLION YEARS!

[eshfemme]

25. Seriously, this speech was so sad because if he'd been classy like this all the time

He might have given Obama a harder time. Then I wouldn't have so many bad feelings towards him (and feel guilty for hating on an old old man who has limited time on Earth).

[sofa king]

26. That brings up another thing.

You know, there is a difference between Democratic and Republican voters, and you can hear it in just about every speech made over the past two years.

It seems to me Republicans boo things and people they don't like during speeches far more often than Democrats do. Can it be that one of the fundamental differences between us is our response to optimism and negativity?

I briefly thought about trying to do a comparison between speech transcripts, but another thing I've noticed is that a lot of transcripts omit crowd reactions.

[tekisui]

27. Too Little, Too Late.

I give him nothing but the finger.

[cooolandrew]

28. The line that you should always quote to right wingers is "[Barack Obama] will be my president." >

If they honor his leadership surely they should respect his lead and accept that as a reality sure they'll differ but even McCain says he is the next president and we can all go from there. Also Bush himself said democracy is about a "peaceful transference of power". So, do they disrespect their leaders and the process why vote for them to being with, time for them to embrace the future.

[Honeycombe8]

29. A great concession speech. nt

[opihimoimoi]

30. There is also his Kenner Speech in La

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aMDJP4VxY4&feature=related

[mitchum]

31. Talk is cheap