-- Sarah Palin praised John McCain on Wednesday night as a man who has met grave challenges and "knows how tough fights are won."
Sarah Palin ripped Barack Obama and said she's ready for the "challenge of a tough fight."
She then blasted Democratic rival Barack Obama, saying he "wants to forfeit" in Iraq while victory is "finally in sight."
"It's easy to forget that
this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform, not even in the state Senate," she told the Republican National Convention.
The crowd erupted with chants of "Zero!" and some delegates made zeroes with their fingers.
Throughout the speech, it was clear the first-term governor of Alaska had won over the hearts of the crowd.
"I think Sarah Palin can do a one-two punch better than Muhammad Ali," said Karin Brownlee, a state senator from Kansas. "I think she delivered it just square on the opponents' face."
Palin told the crowd that Obama "wants to forfeit" in Iraq while victory is "finally in sight." This is a man who can give an
entire speech about the wars America is fighting and never use the word 'victory' except when he's talking about his own campaign," she said.
"What exactly is our opponent's plan?
What does he actually seek to accomplish after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make the government bigger and take more of your money."
She began with a lengthy, minutes-long standing ovation as she accepted the Republican Party's nomination for vice president. It marked the first time in history that a woman has taken the stage as the GOP vice president pick.
"I accept the challenge of a tough fight," she said. The crowd waved banners reading "Hockey moms for Palin" and shouted, "We love you, Sarah."
"I love those hockey moms," she said.
Palin, the former mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, contrasted her résumé as a former mayor of a small town with that of Obama.
"I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities."
Palin presented herself as both a mother and as an outside-the-Beltway reformer in the McCain mold, saying she "took on the old politics as usual in Juneau" and "stood up to the special interests, the lobbyists, big oil companies, and the good ol' boys network."
She tied oil, a major industry in her home state of Alaska, to foreign policy and national security on a night when convention delegates repeatedly burst into chants of "Drill now, baby, drill now!"
She insisted that the United States seek "energy independence," including through more drilling, in the face of threats as diverse as hurricanes in the Gulf and Russian military power in the Caucasus.
And
Palin dismissed criticism about her that have appeared in the press.
"Here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country."
She also praised McCain as a "true profile in courage" compared with Obama.
"In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change," she said.
Palin, whose youngest child has Down syndrome, also promised that families of special needs children will have "a friend and advocate in the White House."
At the end of the speech, McCain came out on stage amid raucous cheers and said, "Don't you think we made the right choice for the next vice president of the United States?"
The Obama campaign issued a statement immediately after the speech, saying it was "well-delivered, but it was written by George Bush's speechwriter and sounds exactly like the same divisive, partisan attacks we've heard from George Bush for the last eight years."
Just before Palin took center stage, former New York Mayor
Rudy Giuliani warmed up the crowd by continuing the
barrage on Obama, calling him a "celebrity senator" with no leadership experience.
"He's never had to lead people in crisis," Giuliani said.
"This is not a personal attack; it's a statement of fact. Barack Obama has never led anything. Nothing. Nada.
"The choice in this election comes down to substance over style. John McCain has been tested. Barack Obama has not. Tough times require strong leadership, and this is no time for on-the-job training."
His speech was the third of the evening by former GOP presidential candidates who pumped up the Republican faithful ahead of Palin.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee got the crowd cheering when he ripped Obama for looking to Europe for ways to change America.
"Barack Obama's excellent adventure to Europe took his campaign for change to hundreds of thousands of people who don't even vote or pay taxes here," he said.
"The fact is, most Americans don't want more government; they want a lot less."
Huckabee said McCain represents small government and has ideas for change that will make the nation's economy better. He added that McCain is "a man with the character and stubborn kind of integrity that I want in a president."
Huckabee took a jab at the "elite media" for "unifying the Republican Party and all of America" in support of McCain and Palin, a first-term governor of Alaska.
"The reporting of the past few days has proven tackier than a costume change at a Madonna concert," Huckabee said. "I am so tired of hearing about her lack of experience. I want to tell you folks something. She got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States."
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt
Romney blasted "liberal Washington," saying McCain is a "prescription for every American who wants change in Washington."
He added that it's time to take a "Weedwacker" to excessive regulation and to impose lower taxes and to stop big-government spending.
"Throw out the big-government liberals and elect John McCain," Romney said. "We need change, all right: change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington."
He also threw his support behind Palin, saying the McCain-Palin ticket "will keep America as it has always been: the hope of the world."
"We will never allow America to retreat in the face of evil extremism," Romney said.
The Republican Party officially nominated McCain for president at the convention Wednesday. McCain will give a speech accepting the nomination on Thursday night.
