Anti-war protesters heckle McCain speech
9/5/2008 - 9:56:32 AMJohn McCain was interrupted by anti-war protesters as he accepted the Republican party’s presidential nomination today.
Delegates chanted “USA, USA” in an attempt to block out the chants of the protesters as they were removed from the convention centre.
Other protesters unfurled a banner as Mr McCain praised US president George Bush “for leading us in those dark days following the worst attack on American soil in our history”.
As the protesters interrupted, Mr McCain went off-script and said: “Please don’t be diverted by the ground noise and the static.”
He went on to say that he would talk about it some more and added: “Americans want us to stop yelling at each other.”
The 72-year-old Arizona senator, who will be the oldest first-term US president if elected in November, was speaking the night after his surprise running mate Sarah Palin electrified the convention floor with strong attacks on Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama, portraying herself as a “pit bull in lipstick”.
Several political pundits have since compared her with former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.