麦凯恩落选演说
(2008-11-09 05:22:26)
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美国总统大选奥巴马麦凯恩杂谈 |
John McCain's concession speech
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 Sen. 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. Sen. 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.
Sen. 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.
Sen. 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 goodwill 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 Gov. 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 Sen. Obama and my old friend Sen. 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 Sen. Obama — whether they supported me or Sen.
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.