McCain vows that change is on the way

On taxes, long a hot button issue for Republicans, McCain pledged to "keep taxes low and cut them where I can" while insisting that Obama "will raise them." On education, McCain advocated school choice and condemned Obama as wanting "our schools to answer to unions and entrenched bureaucracies." On energy, McCain contrasted his "ambitious" plan with Obama's opposition to expanded drilling and an increased focus on nuclear power.

The deliberate emphasis by McCain on domestic matters was an obvious attempt to answer his Democratic critics who have long argued that the Arizona senator has little familiarity or interest in addressing and solving the economic problems facing the country.

McCain avoided any direct attacks on Obama's foreign policy record or stance on the war in Iraq. But, before McCain took the stage, one of his key allies -- South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham -- repeatedly questioned the Democratic nominee's credentials and readiness for the presidency.

Graham noted that Obama initially opposed the surge in Iraq, and alleged that the Illinois senator is among the few people in public life who refuse to acknowledge its successes.

"We know the surge has worked, " said Graham. "Our men and women in uniform know it has worked. The only people who deny it are Barack Obama and his buddies at MoveOn.org"

He asserted: "Barack Obama's campaign is built around us losing in Iraq."

Graham also sought to turn the most-quoted line in Obama's acceptance speech last week against him. "If Barack Obama cannot appreciate that our troops are winning in Iraq, he should not be their commander-n-chief," said Graham. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Barack Obama doesn't care. I'm just saying - he doesn't get it."

Obama, in an appearance on Fox News Channel's "O'Reilly Factor" that aired earlier this evening, said: "I think that the surge has succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated . . . It's succeeded beyond our wildest dream." He also said, however, that "The Iraqis still haven't taken responsibility. And we still don't have that kind of political reconciliation."

In many ways, McCain's speech to the assembled delegates in St. Paul was a return to his political roots. McCain's rise on the national scene was born in large part from his willingness to buck Republican orthodoxy on issues like campaign finance reform, tax cuts, the environment and immigration.

This year, however, McCain has focused far less on the areas in which he disagrees with the base of the party -- a strategic necessity as he sought the Republican presidential nomination. On the campaign trail, McCain speaks rarely -- if ever -- about the issues on which his maverick reputation is built, choosing instead to focus heavily on foreign policy and national security matters.

The conclusion of McCain's speech signaled the official start of a 60-day general election sprint with several recent national polls have showed the contest as a dead heat