Senator McCain's
Announcement Speech
April 25, 2007
ARLINGTON, VA - U.S.
Senator John McCain
will officially
announce his
candidacy for the
President of the
United States today
in Portsmouth, New
Hampshire with
remarks at a 12:00
p.m. EDT rally in
Prescott Park. Below
are Senator McCain's
remarks, as prepared
for delivery:
"Today, I announce
my candidacy for
President of the
United States. I do
so grateful for the
privileges this
country has already
given me; mindful
that I must seek
this responsibility
for reasons greater
than my
self-interest; and
determined to use
every lesson I've
learned through hard
experience and the
history I've
witnessed, every
inspiration I've
drawn from the
patriots I've known
and the faith that
guides me to meet
the challenges of
our time, and
strengthen this
great and good
nation upon whom all
mankind depends.
"We've begun another
campaign season
earlier than many
Americans prefer. So
soon after our last
contentious
election, our
differences are
again sure to be
sharpened and
exaggerated. That's
the nature of free
elections. But even
in the heat of a
campaign, we
shouldn't lose sight
that much more
defines us than our
partisanship; much
more unites us than
divides us. We have
common purposes and
common challenges,
and we live in
momentous times.
This election should
be about big things,
not small ones. Ours
are not red state or
blue state problems.
They are national
and global. Half
measures and small
minded politics are
inadequate to the
present occasion. We
can't muddle through
the next four years,
bickering among
ourselves, and leave
to others the work
that is ours to do.
Greatness is
America's destiny,
but no nation
complacent in its
greatness can long
sustain it.
"We are fighting a
war in two
countries, and we're
in a global struggle
with violent
extremists who
despise us, our
values and modernity
itself. If we are to
succeed, we must
rethink and rebuild
the structure and
mission of our
military; the
capabilities of our
intelligence and law
enforcement
agencies; the
purposes of our
alliances; the reach
and scope of our
diplomacy; the
capacity of all
branches of
government to defend
us. We need to
marshal all elements
of American power:
our military,
economy, investment,
trade and
technology. We need
to strengthen our
alliances and build
support in other
nations. We must
preserve our moral
credibility, and
remember that our
security and the
global progress of
our ideals are
inextricably linked.
"We all know the war
in Iraq has not gone
well. We have made
mistakes and we have
paid grievously for
them. We have
changed the strategy
that failed us, and
we have begun to
make a little
progress. But in the
many mistakes we
have made in this
war, a few lessons
have become clear.
America should never
undertake a war
unless we are
prepared to do
everything necessary
to succeed, unless
we have a realistic
and comprehensive
plan for success,
and unless all
relevant agencies of
government are
committed to that
success. We did not
meet this
responsibility
initially. And we
must never repeat
that mistake again.
"We must also
prepare, far better
than we have, to
respond quickly and
effectively to
another terrorist
attack or natural
calamity. When
Americans confront a
catastrophe, natural
or man-made, they
have a right to
expect basic
competence from
their government.
They won't accept
that firemen and
policemen are unable
to communicate with
each other in an
emergency because
they don't have the
same radio
frequency. They
won't accept
government's failure
to deliver bottled
water to dehydrated
babies or rescue the
infirm from a
hospital with no
electricity. They
won't accept
substandard care and
indifference for
wounded veterans.
"That's not good
enough for America.
And when I'm
President, it won't
be good enough for
me.
"Government spends
more money today
than ever before.
Wasteful spending on
things that are not
the business of
government indebts
us to other nations;
deprives you of the
fruits of your
labor; fuels
inflation; raises
interest rates; and
encourages
irresponsibility.
"That's not good
enough for America.
And when I'm
President, it won't
be good enough for
me.
"No government
program is the
object of more
political posturing
than Social Security
and Medicare. Here's
the plain truth:
there are too few
workers supporting
too many retirees,
and if we don't make
some tough choices
today, Social
Security and
Medicare will go
bankrupt or we'll
have to raise taxes
so drastically we'll
crush the prosperity
of average
Americans. Too many
politicians want to
ignore the problem,
and run for
re-election by
threatening anyone
who wants to fix it.
"That's not good
enough for America.
And when I'm
President, it won't
be good enough for
me.
"Our tax code is
used to game the
system for some at
the expense of the
many instead of
encouraging the
thrift, investment,
innovation and
industry of all
Americans. It's
complexity and waste
costs Americans $140
billion in
preparation and
compliance costs
each year.
"That's not good
enough for America.
And when I'm
President, it won't
be good enough for
me.
"Our dependence on
foreign sources of
energy not only
harms our
environment and
economy, it
endangers our
security. So much of
the oil we import
comes from countries
in volatile regions
of the world where
our values aren't
shared and our
interests aren't a
priority.
"That's not good
enough for America.
And when I'm
President, it won't
be good enough for
me.
"We're not a country
that prefers
nostalgia to
optimism. We're not
a country that would
rather go back than
forward. We're the
world's leader, and
leaders don't pine
for the past and
dread the future. We
make the future
better than the
past. Opening new
markets to American
goods and services
is indispensable to
our future
prosperity. Lowering
trade barriers
creates more and
better jobs; keeps
inflation under
control; keeps
interest rates low;
and makes more goods
affordable to more
Americans. We won't
compete successfully
by using old
technology to
produce old goods.
We'll succeed by
knowing what to
produce and
inventing new
technologies to
produce it.
"But open markets
don't automatically
translate into a
better quality of
life for every
American. While most
gain, some are
forced to struggle
with very difficult
choices. Right now
we have a half dozen
programs to help
displaced workers
and another half
dozen for people who
aren't working at
all. We have an
unemployment
insurance program
that's right out of
the 1950s, designed
to assist workers
through a few tough
months during an
economic downturn.
"That's not good
enough for America.
And when I'm
President, it won't
be good enough for
me.
"These are some of
the challenges that
confront us. There
are others just as
urgent, and during
this campaign I'll
travel across the
country offering my
ideas about how we
should address them
and listening to the
concerns and advice
of Americans. The
American people
aren't interested in
an election that
offers platitudes
instead of
principles and
insults instead of
ideas; an election
that results - no
matter who wins - in
four years of unkept
promises and a
divided government
that is little more
than a battleground
for the next
election. They're
tired of the old
politics. Americans
are acutely aware of
our problems, and
their patience is at
an end for
politicians who
value incumbency
over principle, and
for partisanship
that is less a
contest of ideas
than an uncivil
brawl over the
spoils of power. I
want my presidency
to be an opportunity
- an opportunity to
fix what we all know
needs to be fixed:
"to strengthen our
military,
intelligence,
diplomacy, and law
enforcement and use
the power of
American ideals and
commerce to win the
war against violent
extremists, and help
the majority of
Muslims who believe
in progress and
peace to win the
struggle for the
soul of Islam;
"to balance the
federal budget not
with smoke and
mirrors but by
encouraging economic
growth and
preventing
government from
spending your money
on things it
shouldn't; to hold
it accountable for
the money it does
spend on services
that only government
can provide in ways
that don't fail and
embarrass you;
"to save Social
Security and
Medicare on our
watch without the
tricks, band-aid
solutions, lies and
posturing that have
failed us for too
long while the
problem became
harder and harder to
solve;
"to make our tax
code simpler,
fairer, flatter,
more pro-growth and
pro-jobs;
"to reduce our
dangerous dependence
on foreign sources
of oil with an
energy policy that
encourages American
industry and
technology to make
our country safer,
cleaner and more
prosperous by
leading the world in
the use, development
and discovery of
alternative sources
of energy;
"to open new markets
to American goods
and services, create
more and better jobs
for the American
worker and overhaul
unemployment
insurance and our
redundant and
outmoded programs
for assisting
workers who have
lost a job that's
not coming back to
find a job that
won't go away;
"to help Americans
without health
insurance acquire it
without bankrupting
the country, and
ruining the quality
of American health
care that is the
envy of the world;
"to make our public
schools more
accountable to
parents and better
able to meet the
critical
responsibility they
have to prepare our
children for the
challenges they'll
face in the world
they'll lead.
"When I'm President
I'll offer common
sense, conservative
and comprehensive
solutions to these
challenges. Congress
will have other
ideas, and I'll
listen to them. I'll
work with anyone who
is serious and
sincere about
solving these
problems. I expect
us to argue over
principle, but when
a compromise
consistent with our
principles is within
reach, I expect us
to seize it.
Americans expect us
to disagree, but not
just to win the next
election. They want
us to serve the same
goal: to ensure that
a country blessed
with our matchless
prosperity,
ingenuity, and
strength can meet
any challenge we
confront.
"I won't judge
myself by how many
elections I've won,
but by how well I
keep my promises to
you. To keep those
promises, I can't
just win this
election by a few
votes in a few
counties in a few
states. I need a
mandate from you big
enough to convince
Congress that
Americans want this
election to be
different. You want
to change the
politics of
selfishness,
stalemate and delay;
move this country
forward and stake
our claim on this
century as we did in
the last. Then I ask
you for the
opportunity to
devote every day of
my presidency to
making this
government work for
you, and for a
mandate big enough
to get the job done.
"I'll challenge
myself and each
member of Congress
to wake up each
morning and ask
ourselves: will we
remember today as
the finest day of
our public life; the
day we worked just
for you, not for us?
And I'll challenge
the American people
to reject phony
soundbite solutions
that have failed us
in the past, and
hold us accountable
for the work you
have given us.
"We face formidable
challenges, but I'm
not afraid of them.
I'm prepared for
them. I'm not the
youngest candidate.
But I am the most
experienced. I know
how the military
works, what it can
do, what it can do
better, and what it
should not do. I
know how Congress
works, and how to
make it work for the
country and not just
the re-election of
its members. I know
how the world works.
I know the good and
the evil in it. I
know how to work
with leaders who
share our dreams of
a freer, safer and
more prosperous
world, and how to
stand up to those
who don't. I know
how to fight and how
to make peace. I
know who I am and
what I want to do.
"I don't seek the
office out of a
sense of
entitlement. I owe
America more than
she has ever owed
me. Thirty-four
years ago, I came
home from an
extended absence
abroad. While I was
away, I fell in love
with my country. I
learned that what's
good for America, is
good enough for me.
I have been an
imperfect servant of
my country ever
since, in uniform
and in office, in
war and peace. I
have never lived a
single day, in good
times or in bad,
that I haven't
thanked God for the
privilege.
"You can't sell me
on hopelessness. You
can't convince me
our problems are
insurmountable. Our
challenges are an
opportunity to write
another chapter of
American greatness.
We must seize it,
and those of us
privileged to lead
America must
remember the
principles that made
us great, have the
faith to stand by
them, the integrity
to honor our public
trust, and the
courage to keep our
promise to put the
nation's interests
before our own.
Don't tell me what
we can't do. Don't
tell me we can't
make our country
stronger, and the
world safer. We can.
We must. And when
I'm President we
will.
"I'm not running for
President to be
somebody, but to do
something; to do the
hard but necessary
things not the easy
and needless things.
I'm running for
President to protect
our country from
harm and defeat its
enemies. I'm running
for President to
make the government
do its job, not your
job; to do it with
less and to do it
better. I'm not
running to leave our
biggest problems to
an unluckier
generation of
leaders, but to fix
them now, and fix
them well. I'm
running for
President to make
sure America
maintains its place
as the political and
economic leader of
the world; the
country that doesn't
fear change, but
makes change work
for us; the country
that doesn't long
for the good old
days, but aspires to
even better days.
I'm running for
President of the
United States; not
yesterday's country;
not a defeated
country; not a
bankrupt country;
not a timid and
frightened country;
not a country
fragmented into
bickering interest
groups with no sense
of the national
interest; not a
country with a
bloated,
irresponsible and
incompetent
government. I'm
running for
President of the
United States, a
blessed country, a
proud country, a
hopeful country, the
most powerful and
prosperous country
and the greatest
force for good on
earth. And when I'm
President, I intend
to keep it so."
Source: John
McCain 2008 |