I just finished watching McCain’s concession speech live on CNN.com. Whether I wanted him to be president or not, his speech choked me up. Now, that was good sportsmanship. I like that he emphasized the honor of serving his country, in whatever capacity. Certainly McCain gets my respect for his dignified, admirable demeanor and words tonight.
November 4, 2008...10:35 pm
An Honorable Man
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14 Comments
November 4, 2008 at 11:33 pm
We’re watching the SBS coverage but so far they’ve only shown Obama’s speech. I’ll be watching for McCain’s one. I liked Obama’s central message of bringing everybody together rather than focus on division. I do hope he can achieve his goals.
November 4, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Yes, that was a very honorable speech.
November 5, 2008 at 12:53 am
I just saw McCain’s speech and I was crying when he mentioned Obama’s grandmother. I can’t believe some people were booing though. Terrible! But he handled them so well. Actually, part of his message was very similar to Obama’s – for people to come together rather than dwell on division.
November 5, 2008 at 5:43 am
Congratulations.
You have many reasons to be proud…XXxx
November 5, 2008 at 8:55 am
I watched his speech earlier on today – felt like the real McCain I’d felt a lot of sympathy for as opposed to the honourable man tied up by a dishonourable party machine.
November 5, 2008 at 10:04 am
I was proud of both men last night for speaking of working together for the good of the country, and of the higher ideals we often forget. I also wonder if that was the first acceptance speech in our history to include the word gay!
I was sad to hear people booing when McCain mentioned Obama. I thought that was disrespectful, to say the least. I don’t think McCain liked it, either.
November 5, 2008 at 11:05 am
I really liked his speech too! I even got a little choked up when it looked like Palin might cry. Last night we saw the John McCain that I remember liking so much.
November 5, 2008 at 11:47 am
I just wonder if he had been as eloquent during the last part of his campaign (instead of acting as a fear mongering, angry white man) as he was last night, if things would have been slightly different in the outcome of the election? I was so very impressed with his speech and have a new respect for him. I know he had a lot against him from the beginning with being the potential “heir” of the Bush legacy but he really came off as being a total creep (at least to me). It was really nice to see him in this light.
November 5, 2008 at 10:12 pm
If that John McCain had been the man running for President, I think he would have had an excellent chance. Poor fellow … what a mess the whole thing turned out to be.
And then I wonder how much of politicians’ speeches really reflects anything they think, and how much of it is the grace and cleverness of their speechwriters.
November 5, 2008 at 11:00 pm
David: I thought about that too, when I realized that they must write both a concession and an acceptance speech ahead of time. How strange that must be! But even if he was speaking words written by another, I think I still saw him. Especially when people booed at Obama’s name, and he asked them to stop. And I believe he really does love his country and feel honored to serve it, as he has done for so long.
November 6, 2008 at 12:07 am
Yeah, I thought I saw something of the real “him” too. But I’m so cynical; it’s impossible for me to take any public figure at face value.
November 6, 2008 at 4:16 am
In a country, where there is no politician to be proud of any more, I woke up and cheered the result as well as McCain’s behaviour as no-winner but no-hater (the ones our politicians could never turn to be) . What a happy day it was! I wish you and us, all of us a good president after so many shameful years of the previous one.
November 6, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Yes, Indianyó, that’s EXACTLY what I was telling Theo yesterday: in our country you would never hear EITHER side declaring that from today on he is my president too. Instead, they immediately yell: Fraud!
Henitsirk, how’s this, two ‘ferners’ chatting in your comments about their own country’s political situation?!
November 6, 2008 at 2:41 pm
It’s totally fine! It’s kind of nice to hear that US politicians are not as bad as some, considering how bad they sometimes seem