Tonight, I have a privilege given few Americans -- the privilege of accepting our party's nomination for president of the United States. And I accept it with gratitude, humility and confidence. . . .
These are tough times for many of you. You're worried about keeping your job or finding a new one, and you are struggling to put food on the table and stay in your home. All you've ever asked of government is to stand on your side and not in your way. And that's what I intend to do: stand on your side and fight for your future.
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Let me just offer an advance warning to the old, big-spending, do-nothing, me-first, country-second Washington crowd: Change is coming.
I'm not in the habit of breaking promises to my country and neither is Gov. [Sarah] Palin. And when we tell you we're going to change Washington, and stop leaving our country's problems for some unluckier generation to fix, you can count on it.
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You well know I've been called a maverick, someone who marches to the beat of his own drum. . . . What it really means is I understand who I work for. I don't work for a party. I don't work for a special interest. I don't work for myself. I work for you.
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I fought for the right strategy and more troops in Iraq when it wasn't a popular thing to do. And when the pundits said my campaign was finished, I said I'd rather lose an election than see my country lose a war.
Thanks to the leadership of a brilliant general, David Petraeus, and the brave men and women he has the honor to command, that strategy succeeded and rescued us from a defeat that would have demoralized our military, risked a wider war and threatened the security of all Americans.
I don't mind a good fight. For reasons known only to God, I've had quite a few tough ones in my life. But I learned an important lesson along the way. In the end, it matters less that you can fight. What you fight for is the real test.
I fight for Americans. I fight for you.
I fight to restore the pride and principles of our party. We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us. We lost the trust of the American people when . . . we valued our power over our principles.
We're going to change that. We're going to recover the people's trust by standing up again for the values Americans admire.
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