ST. PAUL—On Thursday night, John McCain tried to cast himself as the real “post-partisan” candidate in this year’s presidential race. The previous evening, his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, had energized the arena and fired up the GOP’s conservative base. McCain gave a less polemical—and much less dynamic—speech, which included frank criticisms of his own party.

Unlike many other speakers at the 2008 Republican National Convention, McCain actually mentioned George W. Bush, though not by name. He did it early in the speech—as if to get it out of the way. McCain said he was “grateful to the president of the United States for leading us” after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and for “keeping us safe from another attack.”

McCain sought to establish his independence from the unpopular GOP brand. “I don’t work for a party,” he said. “I don’t work for a special interest. I don’t work for myself. I work for you.” He has “fought corruption, and it didn’t matter if the culprits were Democrats or Republicans.” He has also “fought the big spenders in both parties who waste your money on things you neither need nor want.”

‘I fight to restore the pride and principles of our party,’ McCain declared. ‘We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us.’

Who else has McCain fought? “I’ve fought to get million-dollar checks out of our elections. I’ve fought lobbyists who stole from Indian tribes. I’ve fought crooked deals in the Pentagon. I’ve fought tobacco companies and trial lawyers, drug companies and union bosses.”

It was vintage McCain-style populism. Later in the speech he lectured Republicans on their recent misdeeds and failures. “I fight to restore the pride and principles of our party,” McCain declared. “We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us.” He noted that “some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption,” which is one reason the public came to distrust the GOP.

The speech said much less about foreign policy than one might have expected. McCain proudly recalled his support for the surge of U.S. military forces in Iraq, but he barely mentioned the broader war on terrorism. He devoted only one short sentence to Iran. (“Iran remains the chief state sponsor of terrorism, and is on the path to acquiring nuclear weapons.”) By contrast, he devoted five sentences to Russia and its recent invasion of Georgia. McCain said nothing about North Korea, China, or Pakistan.

On domestic policy, McCain touted a grab-bag of initiatives. He promised to overhaul federal assistance for displaced workers. He called for slashing the corporate tax rate, and zinged Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama for proposing tax increases. McCain also ticked off a laundry list of energy ideas. But there was nothing in his speech about strengthening the U.S. dollar to curb consumer price inflation, and not a word about Social Security. McCain has championed some bold free-market healthcare reforms, but last night he chose not to remind voters of his specific proposals.

“Again and again, I’ve worked with members of both parties to fix problems that need to be fixed. That’s how I will govern as president. I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again,” he pledged. “I’ll ask Democrats and independents to serve with me, and my administration will set a new standard for transparency and accountability.”

McCain did not discuss immigration or climate change, two hot-button issues that the next president may well be forced to address during his first year in the White House. In the past, the Arizona senator has favored a qualified amnesty for illegal immigrants, a guest-worker program, and an ambitious “cap-and-trade” regime to regulate carbon emissions—all of which are deeply controversial among Republicans. The failure of Congress to pass sweeping immigration and carbon legislation is often blamed on the “partisan rancor” that McCain deplores. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how McCain handles these issues in the presidential debates.

Duncan Currie is managing editor of THE AMERICAN.

Image by Getty.