[大選] 麥凱恩發(fā)表落敗演說 (視頻+文本)
I am also -- I am also, of course, very thankful to Governor Sarah Palin, one of the best campaigners I've ever seen...(APPLAUSE)
... 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... (APPLAUSE)
... her husband Todd and their five beautiful children... (APPLAUSE)
... 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. (APPLAUSE)
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.
MCCAIN: 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.
(APPLAUSE)
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. (APPLAUSE)
We never hide from history. We make history.
Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very much.