McCain: End ‘the constant partisan rancor’

Graham paints Obama as ‘patronizing’ defeatist
Embracing his attack-dog role Thursday night, Graham said Obama “cannot appreciate that our troops are winning in Iraq” and “inspired those who supported retreat and would have accepted our defeat.”

Graham said President Bush’s “troop surge” last year in Iraq had tamed violence in Iraq, crediting McCain with supporting it from the beginning.

“We know the surge has worked. Our men and women in uniform know it has worked. And I promise you — above all others — al-Qaida knows it has worked,” Graham said. “ The only people who deny it are Barack Obama and his buddies at moveon.org.”

Graham’s characterization of Obama’s position on the surge was at odds with Obama’s own statements. In an interview Thursday on Fox News Channel, Obama told host Bill O’Reilly that the infusion of tens of thousands of new U.S. troops had, in fact, “succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.”

Nonetheless, Graham insisted that Obama “refuses to acknowledge [the troops’] success.”

“They have worked too hard and sacrificed too much for a patronizing pat on the back,” Graham said. “... He should not be their commander-in-chief.”

GOP happy with Palin speech
Graham’s comments built on a biting attack Wednesday by Palin, whose poised and polished performance remained the talk of the convention.

Of Palin, who was formally nominated by acclamation early Thursday evening, McCain said he “can’t wait until I introduce her to Washington.”

Charlie Neibergall / AP Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., went on the attack Thursday night against Sen. Barack Obama at the Republican National Convention.

“And let me offer an advance warning to the old big-spending, do-nothing, me-first, country-second Washington crowd: Change is coming,” he said.

Republicans said Palin’s address went a long way toward answering doubts raised by Democratic critics about her political training as a small-town mayor and her brief tenure as Alaska’s governor.

The McCain camp also pushed on with its fierce public relations campaign against the news media, seeking to deflect further attention from Palin’s family and the ethics investigations she faces back home.

“When you’re a real reformer like Sarah Palin, who isn’t afraid to take on entrenched political interests, scurrilous attacks and empty allegations come with the territory,” said Taylor Griffiths, a spokesman for McCain.

The Democratic vice presidential nominee, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, agreed that some news coverage of his Republican counterpart had been sexist, saying in an interview with Fox News Channel that criticism of Palin’s family had been fueled “by you guys in the media.”

Video   Democrats look for a pushback Sept. 4: Sarah Palin’s tough performance is forcing Democrats to figure out how and when to respond. NBC’s Lee Cowan reports. Nightly News

“It is off-limits to talk about her family,” Biden said. “Every family has difficulty as they’re raising their children. I think the way she’s handled it has been absolutely exemplary.”

Later, campaigning in Virginia, Biden said he would challenge Palin on issues “as strongly as I can,” but he reiterated that he would refrain from personal attacks.  

“I thought the vice presidential nominee did an incredible job” in her speech Wednesday night, he said at a military forum in Virginia Beach. “I tell you, she is good.

“But the thing that I was most impressed by, beyond her standing and how confident she was, was what she didn’t say,” Biden added. “She didn’t mention the word ‘health care.’ She didn’t mention the word ‘education.’ She didn’t mention college education. Not one time did I hear the phrase ‘middle class’ part [Republicans’] lips.”

Biden was wrong on at least one of those points. Palin said Wednesday night that the express reason she got into politics was to work for better education.

Obama answers Palin jibes
In what has emerged as a favorite talking point of Republicans this week, Palin on Wednesday night sarcastically dismissed Obama as a “community organizer,” contrasting her experience with his three years advocating for poverty-stricken residents with a church-based group on the South Side of Chicago during the 1980s.

Speaking Thursday in York, Pa., Obama objected to what he characterized as Republican attempts to demean social work.

“Why would that kind of work be ridiculous?” Obama asked. “Who are they fighting for? What are they advocating for? They think that the lives of those folks who are struggling each and every day — that working with them to try to improve their lives is somehow not relevant to the presidency?

“I think maybe that’s the problem — that’s part of why they’re out of touch and they don’t get it, because they haven’t spent much time working on behalf of those folks.”

NBC News’ Mike Memoli in Virginia Beach, Va., Amna Nawaz in Washington and Aram Roston in Anchorage, Alaska; Tom Curry of msnbc.com; and John Croman of NBC affiliate KARE in Minneapolis contributed to this report. 

McCain concedes, urges unity with Obama McCain joins Fey to joke on 'SNL' John McCain still has a shot Subscribe to McCain headlines -

Obama elected 44th president Obama campaign head gets big book deal Tears of joy, dancing in streets over Obama win Subscribe to Obama headlines -

MORE FROM THE CONVENTIONS

The conventions Section Front

MSNBC shifts Matthews, Olbermann McCain: End ‘constant partisan rancor’ NYT: Party in power, running as if it weren't Newsweek: God, Moose, Drilling. Summing up the RNC. GOP delegates ponder that unsettling 'what if?' Graham blasts Obama as defeatist ‘Community organizer’ becomes a punch line Obama raises $10 million after Palin speech NYT: Foreign policy factions divide GOP John McCain's acceptance speech The conventions Section Front   Add The conventions headlines to your news reader: