stay in hotel:麦凯恩的败选演讲

McCain's Concession Speech

John McCain's concession speech

Text of Republican John McCain's concession speech Tuesday in Phoenix, as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions.

___

MCCAIN: Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.

My friends, we have — we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly.

A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Sen. Barack Obama to congratulate him.

(BOOING)

Please.

To congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.
In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.

This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.

I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Sen. Obama believes that, too.

But we both recognize that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T.Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in manyquarters.

America today is a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States.

Let there be no reason now ... Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.

Sen. Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer him my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day. Though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.

Sen. Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain.

These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.

I urge all Americans ... I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our goodwill and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.

It is natural. It's natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.

We fought — we fought as hard as we could. And though we feel short, the failure is mine, not yours.

AUDIENCE: No!

MCCAIN: I am so...

AUDIENCE: (CHANTING)

MCCAIN: I am so deeply grateful to all of you for the great honor ofyour support and for all you have done for me. I wish the outcome had been different, my friends.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: We do, too (OFF-MIKE)

MCCAIN: The road was a difficult one from the outset, but your support and friendship never wavered. I cannot adequately express how deeply indebted I am to you.

I'm especially grateful to my wife, Cindy, my children, my dear mother... my dear mother and all my family, and to the many old and dear friends who have stood by my side through the many ups and downs of this long campaign.

I have always been a fortunate man, and never more so for the love and encouragement you have given me.

You know, campaigns are often harder on a candidate's family than on the candidate, and that's been true in this campaign.

All I can offer in compensation is my love and gratitude and the promise of more peaceful years ahead.

I am also — I am also, of course, very thankful to Gov. Sarah Palin,one of the best campaigners I've ever seen ... 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 ... her husband, Todd, and their five beautiful children ...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.

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 Sen. Obama and my old friend Sen. 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.

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.

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 Sen. Obama — whether they supported me or Sen.Obama.

I wish God speed 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.

We never hide from history. We make history.

Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very much

麦凯恩的败选演讲

“谢谢你们，我亲爱的朋友们，谢谢你们能在这样一个美丽的亚利桑那之夜来到这里。

朋友们，我们这漫长的旅程已经走到了尽头。美国人民已经做出了决定，结果是如此地显而易见。

就在不久前，我有幸与奥巴马通话，向他的成功表示了祝贺。”

    （观众嘘声）

“大家请冷静下来。

祝贺他成为我们二人都所深爱着的这个国家的下一任总统。

这是一次漫长而充满坚信的竞选。光是他的胜出便足以让我为他的卓越的能力和坚忍不拔的毅力而深表敬佩。此外，更让我深感羡慕和赞赏的是，为了实现此次竞选的目标，他成功地点燃了数百万美国人民对选举的激情，使他们认识到自己的行为对下一任美国总统的产生并非无足轻重。

这是一次历史性的大选。我能够了解对于非洲裔美国人来说，这次的胜利具有多么重大的意义。我能够体会他们今晚所能感受到的独有的自豪感。

   我一直相信，我们的国家总是会给那些努力奋斗，并能抓住机会的人提供成功的机遇。奥巴马议员也深信这一点。
    但是同时，我们也都意识到，我们都花费了很长的时间、很多的努力来摆脱曾经笼罩在我们身边不公的现象。正是这种种的不公，曾一度损害了我们国家的名誉，伤害了部分美国公民应该享受的利益。他们的遭遇至今令我们倍感伤痛。

一百年前，罗斯福总统曾经邀请非裔美国教育领袖布克.华盛顿前往白宫共进晚餐，结果引来反对声一片。
    然而，如今的美国早已不是当初那个冷酷无情、顽固守旧的美国了。我们今天选举出的非裔美国籍总统，就是最好的证明。
    所以，我们现在不应该再轻视…任何每一个人都不应该再轻视他们作为美国——这个世界上最伟大的国家——的公民应有的权利。
    奥巴马议员所取得的胜利，不仅仅是他一个人的胜利，更是一个国家的胜利。为此，我向他表示祝贺。与此同时，我还要向他表示诚挚的哀悼。他亲爱的祖母没有能坚持到今天，亲眼看着他走向成功的舞台。我们相信她已在主的面前得到了安息，并会为她一手带大的这位英才感到骄傲。
    奥巴马议员曾经与我在许多问题上有过分歧。如今他获胜了。他的成功已经证明，在绝大多数问题上，谁才是对的。
    我们的国家如今陷入了困难重重的境界。我今晚在此向他保证，我将竭尽所能地帮助他领导我们的人民度过这场难关。
    我希望所有的美国人，希望所有支持我的美国人民能够和我一起，不仅能祝贺他的当选，还能够向我们的下一届总统表示良好的祝愿。全心全力地联合起来，共同寻找到能够化解两党差距、增进两党理解的方法，一同努力来重建我们的繁荣、在这个险象丛生的世界环境里保卫我们的安全、为我们的子孙后代留下一个更加强大、更加美好的国家。
    无论我们之间存在着何种的分歧，我们终将遵循美国人民的意愿。请大家相信我，你们的需求、你们的意愿在我心里才是最重要的。

今晚，我们难免会伤心难过。但是明天一旦到来，我们就要走出这沮丧的阴影，为推动国家的发展而共同努力。

我们战斗过——我们竭尽所能地战斗过。虽然我们会感到遗憾，但是，这是我一个人的失败，不是你们的。”

（听众：“不。”）

mccain：“对此，我感到非常的…”
（听众们开始唱起鼓励的歌）
    mccain: “我非常感激，能如此有幸地获得你们的支持。我也非常感谢你们为我所做的一切。我多么希望结局能够不是这样，我的朋友们。”
（一名听众：“我们也是。”）
    MCCAIN：“竞选的道路从一开始就不是一帆风顺，但你们给我的友情却从未曾动摇过。我真的不知道该如何表达心中对你们的亏欠之情。
    我想要格外地感谢我的妻子辛迪，我的孩子，我亲爱的母亲和我所有的家人。我还要感谢那些陪伴我走过一路波折起伏的老朋友们和亲爱的朋友们。
    我一直都是一个幸运的人。而此生我经历的最大的幸运，就是得到了你们的爱和鼓励。
    众所周知，竞选给候选人家庭带来的压力，要远大于它加之于候选人本身的压力。此次竞选也不例外。

而我所能补偿你们的，只能是我的爱、感激和与你们在未来几年里共同过上平静生活的承诺.

此外，我还应当向萨拉.佩林州长表示感谢。她是我所见过的最好的竞选伙伴之一。她为我们党内的改革和原则提出了许多深刻而新颖的意见，是我们的中流砥柱。我同时感谢她的先生托德，和她五个漂亮可爱的孩子，感谢他们为了我们的竞选所做出的不知疲惫的努力，还有他们在面对竞选中的困难与不公时，所表现出的勇气和从容。
    她今后在阿拉斯加的工作、在党内的工作，以及将为国家做出的贡献，都值得我们的期待和关注。

我亲爱的竞选战友们，无论是里克.戴维斯、斯蒂夫.施密特、马克.萨特，还是所有坚持到最后一刻的志愿者们。我感谢你们。谢谢你们在这场竞选中的努力奋斗和斗志昂扬，谢谢你们在这场现代史上最困难的竞选中月复一月、无论何时都不离不弃地与我一同战斗。多年以后当我在回想起这场经历时，留在我脑海中的，将不是一次失败的竞选，而是我有幸能够获得的你们的信任与友谊。

我不知道——不知道还能做什么才能赢得这场竞选。让我们把这个问题交给别人去解决吧！每一位候选人都会犯错，我也不例外。但是，我绝对不会在未来的日子里为此而感到悔恨自责。

这次竞选的经历将成为我毕生的荣耀。对此，我的心中充满了感激之情。我感谢美国人民能在决定奥巴马议员、我的老朋友约翰.拜登议员为他们下一届的总统之前，给我和一个他们公平竞争的机会。”

（听众开始嘘）

“请不要这样。

命运让我如此有幸，能为这个国家服务长达半个世纪。如果我仅为了此次的失败而抱怨自己的命运，那么，我又怎么配得上“美国公民”这个称号？

今天白天，我曾是这个我所深爱的国家最高领导者的候选人之一，而今晚，我依然是她的公仆。对任何人来说，这都是无上的荣幸。为此，我要感谢亚利桑那州的人民。”

（听众：“美国，美国，美国，美国”）

mccain：“今晚——今晚，比以往的任何一个夜晚，我都要更爱我的国家和她的子民。这份爱已经满满地占据了我的内心。我爱你们，无论你们支持我或是奥巴马议员——无论，你们支持的是我，还是奥巴马议员。

我希望上帝能保佑奥巴马议员，我曾经的对手和未来的总统。同时，就像在竞选宣传中我一次又一次所呼吁的那样，我希望所有的美国人民不要被我们目前所面临的困难所吓到，而要始终坚信美国光明和伟大的明天——因为在这片土地上，没有什么困难是无法克服的。

美国人民绝不放弃。我们绝不投降。

我们绝不逃避历史。我们书写历史。 

谢谢你们，愿主保佑你们，愿主保佑美国。非常感谢。”