On Nov 9, 10:18*am, wrote:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h...mfFgQD948JFJG5

Text of Republican John McCain's concession speech Tuesday in Phoenix,
as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions.
___
MCCAIN: Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on
this beautiful Arizona evening.

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 ... 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.

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 ... 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.

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.

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
.. 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 ... 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 ... her husband Todd and their five beautiful children ... 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.

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.

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.

AUDIENCE: USA. USA. USA. USA.

MCCAIN: 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.

We never hide from history. We make history.
Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very
much. *




MWB,

Please note that this is another (OT) : Message
Thread : That I Did NOT Post and Contribute To:

dang - oops - i just did ~ RHF