Video: 'Sen. John McCain's full speech to the RNC'

(Thursday, September 4, 2008, 9:12 p.m. CDT; during the 2008 Republican National Convention) — Senator John McCain of Arizona accepted the Republican presidential nomination tonight at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with a pledge to move the nation beyond “partisan rancor” and narrow self-interest.

McCain had become the party’s nominee the previous evening, Sep. 3, 2008, defeating Rep. Ron Paul of Texas by 2,343 to 21 votes.

McCain had picked Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska to be his running mate. She was officially nominated by acclamation today and accepted the nomination as the presumptive nominee on the previous evening, Sep. 3, 2008.

The McCain-Palin ticket would oppose the Democratic ticket of Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and Senator Joe Biden of Delaware (nominated in August 2008) in the United States presidential election, 2008.