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Klein: McCain More Valedictory Than Inspiring

Posted Sep 5, 08 9:44 AM CDT in Politics,  Opinion 

(Newser) – John McCain’s acceptance speech was remarkable, honorable, and sometimes moving, but also sounded like a valedictory, “more the end of a career than the beginning of a presidency,” writes Joe Klein of Time. McCain was short on new ideas—the policy section "was a half-hearted and unadventurous slog through the world of policy." But who but McCain would so comprehensively admit his party’s failures?

He also movingly admitted some personal weakness, saying plainly of his time in the Hanoi Hilton, “They broke me.” It was a reminder of the great politician McCain once was, but it rang a tad false beside "the scurrilous, sarcastic speeches he allowed to be delivered on Wednesday night." Ultimately McCain “didn’t present anything more than his own integrity as an action plan.” And his reputation for integrity has been badly damaged.

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John McCain listens to the applause of supporters during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn, Sept. 4, 2008.   (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)
John McCain walks onto the stage to accept his party's nomination for president during the Republican National Convention, Sept. 4, 2008.   (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)
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John McCain Speech Highlights   (DanielLevesque)

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Tonight the leap between what McCain really cares about, and what his party really believes, proved too great a chasm for an old warrior to bridge. - Joe Klein, Time

In the end, the strongest aspect of the speech may have been the awkwardness of the delivery. What we saw tonight was the real John McCain.
- Joe Klein, Time

The vast middle of the speech ... was a half-hearted and unadventurous slog through the world of policy, a vivid demonstration of how little McCain cares about this stuff. - Joe Klein, Time

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