CEDARBURG, Wis. - The day after he accepted the Republican nomination for president, John McCain made a campaign stop in a small Wisconsin town Friday and vowed to change the direction of the country.
McCain was accompanied by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who was recently announced as his surprise choice for vice presidential running mate.
Palin generated excitement in the crowd, with over 10,000 people attending when the campaign had initially only expected around 2,000.
Palin's speech focused largely on criticizing Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and highlighting McCain's record.
In politics, there are candidates who use change to promote their careers and then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change,"" Palin said.
She said Obama was ""profoundly"" wrong about the troop surge in Iraq and mentioned that he recently admitted it was working.
As a former soldier and prisoner of war, McCain has shown he is committed to serving the country, according to Palin.
McCain's speech focused more on domestic issues. He said the practice of ""pork barrel"" legislation, where lawmakers insert lucrative projects for their home states into a bill, should end.
The first bill with such measures in it would be vetoed if he becomes president, McCain said.
Independence from Middle Eastern oil sources, according to McCain, could be achieved by a combination of alternative energies, though he promised to drill for more oil in the United States.
""We will drill offshore and we will drill now,"" McCain said, eliciting shouts of ""Drill! Drill!"" from the crowd.
He said he has a record of bipartisanship and independence in the U.S. Senate that shows he is qualified, though he said other lawmakers do not always use the word ""maverick"" as a compliment toward him.
Both McCain and Palin portrayed themselves as people willing to change the ""culture"" of Washington, D.C.
Cedarburg resident Jan Shidan said it seemed like Palin attracted many people to the event. She said recent news concerning Palin's teenage daughter being pregnant was inconsequential.
""Every family has those [types of] issues, it's all things we deal with every day,"" she said.
A group of 10 to 15 UW-Milwaukee students protested the event, but were denied access and were kept several blocks away from the outdoor rally. Recent UW-Milwaukee graduate Daniel Ginsberg-Jaeckle said it was ""scary"" to think of Palin as a possible vice-president.
