Transcript: John McCain Concession Speech, November 4, 2008
(Source: Fox News)
JOHN MCCAIN: Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.
(APPLAUSE)
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.
(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…
(APPLAUSE)
Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.
(APPLAUSE)
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.
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…
(APPLAUSE)
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.
(APPLAUSE)
It is natural. It’s natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: (OFF-MIKE)
We fought — we fought as hard as we could. And though we feel short, the failure is mine, not yours.
AUDIENCE: No!
MCCAIN: I am so…
AUDIENCE: (CHANTING)
MCCAIN: 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.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We do, too (OFF-MIKE)
MCCAIN: 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’m especially grateful to my wife, Cindy, my children, my dear mother…
(APPLAUSE)
… 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 — I am also, of course, very thankful to Governor Sarah Palin, one of the best campaigners I’ve ever seen…
(APPLAUSE)
… 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…
(APPLAUSE)
… her husband Todd and their five beautiful children…
(APPLAUSE)
… for 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.
(APPLAUSE)
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 — 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.
(BOOING)
Please. Please.
I would not — 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.
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.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: USA. USA. USA. USA.
Tonight — 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 — 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.
(APPLAUSE)
We never hide from history. We make history.
Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very much.
I am so honored to know this man! I will never stand in regret for voting for him and hold it as a privilege to be able to vote for him! John McCain is a HERO!
Great Speech!
John McCain is a great leader, a great politician and a great man. While I have a difference of opinion with Senator McCain on several issues, I must say that he is a strong, courageous and honorable man. His speech set the tone for reconcilation after his long and hard fought journey over the past two years. I am thankful for President Obama but am also thankful for Senator McCain who has served the United States of America with all that he is.
Thank you Senator McCain for your words, for your leadership, for your honor.
The only thing that could have made this speech better was if his own supporters didn’t boo what he was saying about Obama. But overall I was very impressed with McCain’s speech. It was very humble and gracious.
Even though I am happy with the outcome of this election, I was deeply moved and filled with admiration as I heard Sen. McCain deliver this speech.
Not only does this speech do him honour, it is also the expression of a responsible leader and, I dare say, probably a historic speech. Sen. McCain is a great man, and this speech alone gives him more credit than everything tha
Even though I am happy with the outcome of this election, I was deeply moved and filled with admiration as I heard Sen. McCain deliver this speech.
Not only does this speech do him honour, it is also the expression of a responsible leader and, I dare say, probably a historic speech.
Sen. McCain is a great man, and this speech alone gives him more credit than anything that could have been said during the campaign. It is a great time for the US, congratulations from France.
great speech
Great MEN in USA: that is what I can see today!…poor Italy without these such statesmen (Berlusconi/Veltroni docet).
White hope from Italy…YES WE CAN
great speech,
A very humble & moving speech. We all should take his advice and back our president. I am a Christian and my bible says to pray for our leaders…well Obama is our leader and he has my support and prayers, even tho’ I voted for McCain.
I was moved by this speech.
He showed greatness in this moment of defeat. He did not fall into the trap of being bitter. Instead he said his farewell showing humility and respect for senator Obama.
John McCain, in my eyes, grew significally when he stopped the booing crowd and gave honor and respect to Senator Barack Obama. “Humble yourself and you will be lifted up” the Bible says.
A truly great way of ending his campaign.
I’ve always find John Mccain to be an angry man who fought very hard especially on the campaign trail to contain his anger, and maintain his composure. But tonight the man that I saw delivering this great historic speech is a hero, the man that fought so hard and long for this country that he love so well. He was completely relaxed and humble; I hope this is the real John Mccain. If I could change anything in this speech, I’d change the booing from his audience, which he clearly didn’t appreciate. Congratulations from Canada to Mr. Obama
I don’t see McCain’s speech as being gracious or classy, neither does many of my friends who are literate and comprehend the spoken and written word moderately well. Those of us who are old enough and have been raised in an America divided by race (not by our choice) since we were born understand when we are being patronized. McCain said disfranchised American’s (mainly African American’s and a few other minorities) have “wrongly believed” we have little power to determine the outcome of what we can do in America most especially in the political arena. That is a joke otherwise we would not be a minority and the books many of us read attending segregated schools would not have been the outdated, discarded relics, rejected and passed down from previous generations of White students. I’ll also add most books were shared between two or three African American students. Why does President Elect Barack Obama’s win only affect the pride of African American’s? His mother is White. Why is the significance of his win not relevant to America as a whole? Does not the White race feel pride that the President Elect was not raised by African mammies as many slave owners children were but by White grandparents that instilled the great integrity he has as a man? While we celebrate him as becoming the first African American President (you don’t know how true that is) let’s also remember our newly elected president is an intelligent, loving, family man who’s desires are for all America. Prayerfully we can be an America who will champion new ideas, seek new acceptances, stand in the face of sacrifice and revel in the pride and love of being Americans.
How tragic and disappointing was the audience’s booing against the backdrop of this gracious speech–I believe McCain’s best! Would that we all would be so deferential and respectful in defeat as was this man.
here we supported obama but great speech! obama ’s best
I found a very good spanish translation of the concession speech at this site: http://www.elquintosuyo.com/2008/11/08/discurso-de-concesion-de-mccain-en-espanol/
Check it out.