# McCain's consession speech **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 5, 2008, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357 "2008-11-05T21:46:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/1 "2008-11-05T21:46:18Z")
I don’t want this to sound tacky, and I am sure somehow it will. I am pretty old and I have heard a number of presidential concession speeches. I was probably more impressed with McCain’s than any of the others I have heard. Other than length and the necessary “thank yous,” it was excellent. I really believed him when he spoke about respecting Obama and how everyone should pull together. I have heard this a number of times from other presidential candidates and never believed it as much. What were your reactions? ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/2 "2008-11-05T21:48:08Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > What were your reactions? My reaction can be summed up in three words: Suck it, McCain. That speech would have meant a lot more to me had it not been a complete 180 from everything that came out of his campaign over the last few months. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/3 "2008-11-05T21:52:25Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > What were your reactions? It was a very nice speech. However, if he actually believed what he said about Obama in this speech, he should be too embarrassed with his campaign to look at himself in the mirror. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/4 "2008-11-05T21:52:26Z")
I wish he would have told the people booing off. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/5 "2008-11-05T21:54:21Z")
I was struck by how completely different he sounded than he has over the last however-many months. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/6 "2008-11-05T21:57:12Z")
I thought it was one of the most eloquent concession speeches I have ever heard, but I agree with many here that it was a complete 180 from the last 2 months of campaigning. I also would have been heartened if he had told off the idiots booing. ---
**Author:** ![IClaudius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c37758/32.png) [@IClaudius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IClaudius)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/7 "2008-11-05T22:04:28Z")
It was very good. I think he knew, deep down, that he had to make it pretty special to not be remembered and defined by Schmidt’s campaign and Palin’s real America nonsense. It was a revival of the 2000 McCain we all thought we knew, who all but disappeared in 2008. I do sort of feel sorry for him. He basically got beaten by Rove and people like Kristol in 2000, and then sells out to a sense of inevitability and takes their advice in 2008, and gets beaten by them again. It’s a mixed feeling though, as it was his choice to run such a divisive campaign. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/8 "2008-11-05T22:23:05Z")
There’s a thread on this in IMHO. > **[Was anyone else impressed by McCain tonight?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=491352)** > > In his concession speech, he showed a kind of grace, civility, humility and can-do spirit that would seem to have won over a lot more voters if he had let it show during the last ten months or so. His message about uniting as a nation was... ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/9 "2008-11-05T22:29:27Z")
It reminded of the McCain from 2000. It’s a real shame that McCain hasn’t been around for at least the past year. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/10 "2008-11-05T22:34:42Z")
The biggest thing I remember from his concession, was his interaction with Palin directly following. In stead of a hug and a kiss or at least a hug, she stuck her hand out to him. Speaks volumes if you ask me to their relationship and perhaps how she felt about him. Anyone else see that? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/11 "2008-11-05T22:39:10Z")
> [@Phlosphr](#): > > The biggest thing I remember from his concession, was his interaction with Palin directly following. In stead of a hug and a kiss or at least a hug, she stuck her hand out to him. Speaks volumes if you ask me to their relationship and perhaps how she felt about him. Anyone else see that? McCain can’t win, can he? Gets a hug from Bush,and a handshake from Palin, when anyone in their right mind would want the hug from Palin and the handshake from Bush. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/12 "2008-11-05T22:57:21Z")
> [@Phlosphr](#): > > The biggest thing I remember from his concession, was his interaction with Palin directly following. In stead of a hug and a kiss or at least a hug, she stuck her hand out to him. Speaks volumes if you ask me to their relationship and perhaps how she felt about him. Anyone else see that? The Newsweek article Dio quoted said that she requested to speak after him, and it got rejected - which is as it should be. I’m sure Biden didn’t ask to speak. I thought that it is not surprising the audience booed, given the negativity. It was nice he stopped them, but how could he tell them off since that was what his campaign had been all about? Still, this is one of the best concession speeches I have ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/13 "2008-11-06T01:47:33Z")
Last night I said to my wife, “That was the best concession speech I have ever heard, and I am ecstatic that he got to make it.” ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/14 "2008-11-06T01:53:24Z")
I thought it was meh. The “respect” he allegedly showed Obama was way too little, far too late. And how could he credibly have called out the booing crowd, after having spent months riling them up? Oh, and if taking a moment to really enjoy Sarah Palin’s pain makes me a bad person, I can totally live with that. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/15 "2008-11-06T02:07:21Z")
I believe that if that was the guy that was running for president, he probably could have won. Damn shame he didn’t show up for the race. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/16 "2008-11-06T02:27:09Z")
I thought it was an excellent concession speech, and my thoughts were: if you had run your campaign that way, you might have had a chance. Anyway… very good, classy speech. But too late. ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/17 "2008-11-06T03:17:07Z")
His speech was a real class act. I wish we had seen more of this McCain during the campaign. I’d like to believe that McCain is an honorable man who let his ambitions get in the way of his principles. I’ll be very interested to see what he does when he goes back to the Senate. ---
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/18 "2008-11-06T03:23:44Z")
I, personally, enjoyed the expression on Todd Palin’s face more than anything. Suck it up, buttercup. Back to Moose Pasture. Don’t you people have a wedding to plan? ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/19 "2008-11-06T03:24:51Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The Newsweek article Dio quoted said that she requested to speak after him, and it got rejected - which is as it should be. I hear she wanted to bring up William Ayers just one more time. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357/20 "2008-11-06T03:40:21Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I thought it was an excellent concession speech, and my thoughts were: if you had run your campaign that way, you might have had a chance. Anyway… very good, classy speech. But too late. Yea, I found myself thinking “hey, this guy should run for President. He’d really have a chance to win it”. Ah well… But in any case, I hope he means what he says, and helps work with Obama and moderates in the senate to pass legislation. I’d hate for his performance during the last few months to be the final act of his career. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccains-consession-speech/471357.md?page=2)