John McCain will draw on his deep experience in national security affairs to lead America to success in Iraq and Afghanistan, win in the struggle against violent Islamic extremists, and enhance America’s alliances and partnerships around the world. He will expand trade and boost America’s economy and ensure that the United States remains the world’s leader in standing for freedom and human rights. While he supports robust diplomacy with our allies and adversaries, he would not rush to bestow the prestige of unconditional presidential meetings on the world’s worst dictators.

Senator Obama proposes to conduct presidential summit meetings with the world’s worst dictators. He will withdraw all American combat troops in Iraq, regardless of the consequences for our security, and his trade policy – opposition to longstanding American commitments like NAFTA and to future free trade agreements – will harm our economy and alienate some of America’s closest friends.

John McCain had the judgment to understand that America’s strategy in Iraq was failing and the courage to call for a dramatic change. That strategy is now working, and America is succeeding in Iraq: violence has fallen to a four year low; Sunni insurgents have joined us in the fight against al Qaeda; the Iraqi Army has taken the lead in places once lost to insurgents; and the Iraqi government has begun to make progress toward political reconciliation. Senator McCain believes that defeat in Iraq would have terrible consequences for America’s security, and he will lead the effort to succeed there. He envisions the majority of American troops returning home by the end of his first term in office, with those remaining unlikely to continue in a direct combat role. Senator McCain wants to bring our troops home, but to bring them home with the honor of victory their many sacrifices have earned.

Senator Obama opposed the new strategy and predicted wrongly that it would fail. He voted to deny critical funds to our men and women fighting in Iraq. Senator Obama has pledged to remove all combat troops from Iraq regardless of the conditions on the ground, regardless of the consequences for America’s security, and in disregard of the best advice of our military commanders. The course Senator Obama advocates could draw America into a wider war demanding even greater sacrifices from our country.

John McCain will open foreign markets to American goods. Lowering trade barriers to American goods and services creates more and better jobs, keeps inflation under control, keeps interest rates low, and makes more goods affordable to more Americans. To help workers, John McCain will reform our unemployment insurance and retraining programs.

Obama thinks America can remain prosperous without opening new markets to our goods and services. That’s not change we can believe in.

John McCain will end wasteful government spending. He has opposed wasteful spending by both parties and the Bush administration. As President, he will freeze discretionary spending until a top to bottom review of all federal programs is completed.

Obama has supported wasteful spending and proposed more of his own. That’s not change we can believe in.

Obama will keep wasteful programs and create new big government programs. He will pay for these increases by raising taxes on seniors, parents, small business owners and every American with even a modest investment in the market. That’s not change we can believe in.

John McCain will break from the past to lead a great national campaign to put us on a course for energy independence. No problem is more urgent today than our dependence on foreign oil. It threatens our security, economy and environment. The next President must be willing to break completely with the energy policies of past administrations. We must unleash the genius of Americans, and encourage industries to pursue alternative, non-polluting and renewable energy sources.

Obama voted for the same policies that created the problem. He voted for the energy bill promoted by President Bush and Vice President Cheney, which gave even more breaks to the oil industry. John McCain opposed it because we won’t achieve energy independence by repeating the mistakes of the last half century. That’s not change we can believe in.

To achieve energy independence, we need a president with a record of putting the nation's interests before the special interests. Obama might criticize special interests that give more money to Republicans, but he doesn't take on those that favor him. John McCain has a record of taking on the special interest. Sen. Obama does not.

John McCain has proposed a climate change policy that would greatly reduce our dependence on oil. His approach was opposed by President Bush and leading Democrats, and it was defeated by opposition from special interests.

John McCain fought for the creation of the 9/11 Commission and implementation of its recommendations to enhance America’s security against terrorist attack. He will ensure that America has the quality intelligence necessary to uncover plots before they take root, the resources to protect critical infrastructure and our borders against attack, and the capability to respond and recover from a terrorist incident swiftly. He will work to deprive terrorists of the converts they seek and counter their teaching of the doctrine of hatred and despair, and will engage in this effort with fidelity to America’s deepest ideals.

Obama’s lack of judgment is demonstrated by his pledge to meet, during his first year in office and without precondition, with the leaders of the world’s worst regimes, including Iran – the world’s chief state sponsor of terrorism.

John McCain is committed to keeping taxes low, as well as making the tax code fairer and flatter.

Obama would keep spending money on programs that make our problems worse and create new ones that are modeled on big government programs that created much of the fiscal mess we are in. He plans to pay for these increases by raising taxes on seniors, parents, small business owners and every American with even a modest investment in the market. He doesn’t trust us to make decisions for ourselves and wants the government to make them for us. That’s not change we can believe in.

"For both Senator Obama and Senator Clinton, it turned out that not even John Roberts was quite good enough for them. Senator Obama in particular likes to talk up his background as a lecturer on law, and also as someone who can work across the aisle to get things done. But when Judge Roberts was nominated, it seemed to bring out more the lecturer in Senator Obama than it did the guy who can get things done. He went right along with the partisan crowd, and was among the 22 senators to vote against this highly qualified nominee. And just where did John Roberts fall short, by the Senator's measure? Well, a justice of the court, as Senator Obama explained it -- and I quote -- should share 'one's deepest values, one's core concerns, one's broader perspectives on how the world works, and the depth and breadth of one's empathy.'

"These vague words attempt to justify judicial activism -- come to think of it, they sound like an activist judge wrote them. And whatever they mean exactly, somehow Senator Obama's standards proved too lofty a standard for a nominee who was brilliant, fair-minded, and learned in the law, a nominee of clear rectitude who had proved more than the equal of any lawyer on the Judiciary Committee, and who today is respected by all as the Chief Justice of the United States. Somehow, by Senator Obama's standard, even Judge Roberts didn't measure up. And neither did Justice Samuel Alito. Apparently, nobody quite fits the bill except for an elite group of activist judges, lawyers, and law professors who think they know wisdom when they see it -- and they see it only in each other.

"I have my own standards of judicial ability, experience, philosophy, and temperament. And Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito meet those standards in every respect."

- John McCain, May 6, 2008

John McCain will make health care more available, affordable and responsive to patients. His plan will break from inflationary practices, insurance regulations and tax policies that were designed generations ago. He will give families more choices over their care.

Obama thinks we can improve health care by driving Americans into a new system of government orders, regulations and mandates. His plan represents the old ways of government.

We can't reform government unless we change the political habits of Washington. The American people are sick of the politics of selfishness, stalemate and delay. We have to change not only government policies that have failed them, but the political culture that produced them.

Only John McCain has a record of working to end Washington's stagnant, unproductive partisanship. Americans have seen John McCain put aside partisan and personal interests to move this country forward. When Republicans refused to compromise not on principle but for partisanship, John McCain sought to do so. When he fought corruption, it didn’t matter if the culprits were Democrats or Republicans. When he worked on campaign finance and ethics reform, John McCain did so with Democrats and Republicans.

The American people have not seen Obama forsake partisanship for progress. Obama hasn’t been willing to make the tough calls; to challenge his party; to risk criticism from his supporters to bring real change to Washington.

In this election, Americans will have a choice between the right change that will move our country forward and the wrong change that will take us backward. No matter who wins this election, the direction of this country is going to change dramatically.

The right change will initiate far-reaching reforms in the recognition that many government policies and institutions have failed. Many of the government's failing policies were designed for the problems and opportunities of the mid to late 20th Century. The right kind of change will initiate widespread and innovative reforms in almost every area of government policy. The right change stops impeding Americans from doing what they have always done: overcome every obstacle to progress, turn challenges into opportunities, and make a better country and safer world.

The wrong change looks to the past for solutions that have failed us before ad will fail us again. Like others before him, Obama seems to think government is the answer to every problem and should make our decisions for us. That type of change doesn’t trust Americans to know what is right or what is in their own best interests. That type of change and attitude created the unresponsive bureaucracies of big government in the first place. It is not change we can believe in.

The solution to our problems is not to reach back to the past for answers. In his short-time in office, Obama has accumulated the most liberal voting record in the Senate. But the old, tired, big government policies he seeks to dust off and call new won’t work in a world that has changed dramatically since they were last tried and failed. That’s not change we can believe in.