By Jim Tankersley and Mark Z. Barabak , Chicago Tribune|September 05, 2008
ST. PAUL, Minn. — ST. PAUL, Minn. - With soft rebukes of his opponent and his own party - and harsh words for the culture of Washington - Sen. John McCain claimed the Republican presidential nomination last night and promised that "change is coming" after eight years of the Bush Administration.
The address was much like the candidate: forceful and blunt-spoken, with little of Obama's lyricism. McCain filled it with biography and calls for bipartisanship, hammering his convention theme of "country first" and jabbing Obama.
"Again and again," he said, in remarks prepared for delivery, "I've worked with members of both parties to fix problems that need to be fixed. That's how I will govern as president. 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."
The Republican nominee spoke to a crowd of more than 20,000 in the home of hockey's Minnesota Wild, backed by a screen that changed from lime-green to blue.
Organizers extended the sparse stage into the delegate seats on the convention floor, seeking to emulate the "town hall" settings that are McCain's strong suit.
McCain walked on stage isolated in a beam of light, spotlights raking the darkened convention hall. The crowd chanted, "USA! USA!" - at times to drown out protesters who shouted from the corners of the hall.
The tone and the visuals contrasted sharply with Obama's acceptance speech last week - delivered before more than 84,000 supporters under the stars at Denver's Invesco Field, flanked by Greco-Tuscan columns and topped off by fireworks. Obama's address drew 38 million television viewers, a number GOP vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin nearly matched with her first major national speech on Wednesday.
The lead-in to McCain's speech lacked the electricity of the previous week in Denver or even the previous night here, when speaker after speaker mocked Obama's experience and the crowd buzzed with anticipation for Palin, the governor of Alaska.
Last night's warm-up acts took fewer direct shots at Obama. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina's said the Democratic nominee's campaign "is built around us losing in Iraq." He mockingly reversed Obama's critique of McCain's ability to empathize with Americans struggling economically.
"I'm not saying Barack Obama doesn't care" about the Iraq war, Graham said. "I'm just saying he doesn't get it."
