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John McCain offered a vision of fiscal austerity and limited government in his speech Thursday night accepting the Republican nomination for president.

"All you've ever asked of your government is to stand at your side and not in your way," McCain told assembled delegates. "And that's what I intend to do for you."

"We need to change the way government does almost everything," McCain said. "From the way we protect our security to the way we compete in the world economy, from the way we respond to disasters to the way we fuel our transportation network, from the way we train our workers to the way we educate our children. All these functions of government were designed before the rise of the global economy, the information technology revolution and the end of the Cold War. We have to catch up to history, and we have to change the way we do business in Washington."

McCain said he had "fought corruption" on many fronts during his tenure in Congress. "I've fought the big spenders in both parties who spend your money on things you neither need nor want," he said. He also noted that he had "fought crooked deals in the Pentagon."

McCain was directly critical of the way Republicans have acted while in charge of Congress and the executive branch in recent years. "We were elected to change Washington and we let Washington change us," he said.

"Rather than reform government," McCain said, "both parties made it bigger." He pledged to "get back to basics."

"We believe in a government that unleashes the creativity and initiative of Americans," McCain said. He made several disparaging references to "bureaucrats" and "bureaucracy." When he described Democratic nominee Barack Obama's health care proposals as allowing "a bureaucrat to stand between you and your doctor," the assembled delegates booed lustily.

Nevertheless, McCain issued a call for Americans to join the civil service. "If you find faults with our country, make it a better one," he said. "If you're disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to correct them."

McCain said he would reach across the aisle and appoint Democrats and independents to key positions. And, he said, "my administration will set a new standard for transparency and accountability."

Click here to read a full profile of John McCain from the September issue of Government Executive.

COMMENTS

• Will, What did Bill Clinton give us? Moral disgrace and Lies! Not to mention the undeserving Pardons he gave in his last hours of office. Ann Posted September 15, 2008 12:36 PM
• I understand that federal employee bashing is in vogue and things like the scandle at the Dept of the Interior in Denver only serve to bring the bad apples into the limelight. However, it would be nice if just once, some presidential candidate threw us a "bone" every once in a while and said "nice job". Susan Posted September 11, 2008 2:26 PM
• “Ouch!” LOL. $^D Skeeter try for a “change” in YOUR tactics, set your snide remarks aside, and actually address the issues: 1. The recent proposed changes in Iraq and Afghanistan by the Party Pachyderm follow the Blue Dogs’ proposals of the past two years. (i.e. scale down Iraq and shift emphasis to Afghanistan and the real perpetrators of 9/11) 2. The economy is down due to oil and finances. a. The oil baron-in-charge (Dubya) couldn’t get a better deal for his friends by opening up the off-shore drilling even with full backing of the PP Congress from 2001 - 2006. b. The PP are directly responsible for pulling the chock blocks from the financial industry and causing a run-away. (See the Bankruptcy issue below) And just for the record, again, any drilling will take 5-7 years to benefit our economy. Also for your consideration on that issue … 3. If we use their oil first, who will remain with the ONLY significant reserves? 4. Logic dictates we need to work toward renewable fuels, but there is a plethora of products dependent on hydro-carbon chemicals for their manufacture. Again, who will folks have to come to for those when everyone else’s oil runs dry? Like emergency cash in the bank, our oil reserves can only be a safety net if they aren’t consumed on a regular basis. I know the PP besmirching our reputation doesn’t affect you since you aren’t one of us; but rather plays to a home crowd fan-atic. Still, I HOPE you can be specific about some of these issues. I realize there is no point in addressing the issue of our disappearing Constitutional rights since you’ve already given away yours to His Majesty; still, on that note I have to ask… How does that square with a party apparatchik who advocates smaller government? Sorry, folks. I know long-term thinking is no longer common (just as you can’t teach an old Skeeter new tricks); but... well, I have to try… Tip off Posted September 11, 2008 11:59 AM