McCain knocks Obama in kickoff speech
Posted: Tuesday, June 03, 2008 10:49 PM by Mark Murray
From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann
KENNER, LA -- In a much-anticipated general election kickoff speech tonight, John McCain at once distanced himself from the current president, alluded to the Democrats' meandering path to the nomination, depicted Barack Obama as both inexperienced and beholden to special interests, and described Obama's major line of attack against him as a disingenuous scam.
Kicking off a 30-minute speech rife with criticisms of his newly minted rival, he warned that "you will hear from my opponent's campaign in every speech, every interview, every press release that I'm running for President Bush's third term."
McCain went on to accuse Barack Obama of an almost mindless repetition of that "false" notion. "He tries to drum it into your minds by constantly repeating it rather than debate honestly the very different directions he and I would take the country," he said.
The speech, scheduled to grab a slice of the primetime cable's political audiences, was set on the outskirts of New Orleans, Louisiana, a city that epitomizes for many the incompetence of governance during the Bush years. McCain used the backdrop to describe his history of head-butting with the unpopular current administration. "He and I have not seen eye to eye on many issues," he said of Bush. "We've disagreed over the conduct of the war in Iraq and the treatment of detainees; over out-of-control government spending and budget gimmicks; over energy policy and climate change; over defense spending that favored defense contractors over the public good."
As the sun set on an epic battle for the Democratic nomination, McCain's speech started off with the first decree -- from the mouth of one of its elite group of finalists -- that the primary season is officially at an end. "Tonight," he began, "we can say with confidence the primary season is over, and the general election campaign has begun."
McCain quickly offered a warm verbal embrace of that primary season's loser, his one-time nemesis Hillary Clinton. "The media often overlooked how compassionately she spoke to the concerns and dreams of millions of Americans, and she deserves a lot more appreciation than she sometimes received," he said, going on to note -- as he did in Nashville yesterday -- the historic trail that she has blazed. "As the father of three daughters, I owe her a debt for inspiring millions of women to believe there is no opportunity in this great country beyond their reach."
But for the almost-crowned Democratic nominee, McCain showed little such love. After pointing the finger at Obama for artificially strapping him to Bush's back, he continued his ongoing laundry list of grievances with Obama's stances on Iraq, meetings with rogue leaders, and strategies for energy independence. He described Obama as an inexperienced partisan beholden to special interests and reliant on big-government solutions. "That's not change we can believe in," he pronounced throughout the speech, mockingly referencing Obama's campaign slogan.
The 71-year old senator also took a shot as the age of his rival, 25-years his junior. "You know, I have a few years on my opponent," he quipped, eliciting laughter and applause from the audience of over 500 at Kenner's Pontchartrain Center. "So I am surprised that a young man has bought in to so many failed ideas." In contrast to Obama's youth, he called the Illinois senator's proposed policies "old" and "tired" strategies that need not be "dusted off" again.
Without mentioning Obama by name in one section of his remarks, he also alluded to an arrogance that opponents depict as a motivator of Obama's youthful political career. "I don't seek the presidency on the presumption I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save my country in its hour of need," he said. "I seek the office with the humility of a man who cannot forget my country saved me."
And, notably, he was not shy about describing Obama's path to the nomination as one that bucked the popular vote and relied heavily on influence from party elites. "Pundits and party elders have declared that Senator Obama will be my opponent," he said, soon after wrapping up his enthusiastic praise for Clinton. "He will be a formidable one. But I'm ready for the challenge, and determined to run this race in a way that does credit to our campaign and to the proud, decent and patriotic people I ask to lead."
