We believe

The Republican National Convention showed John McCain in a fighting mood and his running mate, Sarah Palin, a breath of fresh air on the national stage.

John McCain launched his fall campaign to be president Thursday with a rousing speech about changing the way Washington operates.

“Let me offer an advance warning to the old, big-spending, do-nothing, me-first, country-second Washington crowd: Change is coming,” he told the crowd on the Republican National Convention’s closing night in St. Paul, Minn.

The night before, his surprise vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, wowed the crowd with a bold and confident delivery, attacking Democratic candidate Barack Obama, praising the courage of McCain and describing herself as a reformer.

Palin, a former small-town mayor and governor of a state with fewer people than Marion County, made a lot of new fans after her speech and the introduction of her family. There was no mention of daughter Bristol’s pregnancy, but the governor pointed out that her son Track is soon leaving for Iraq.

To Republicans, some of whom still aren’t convinced that McCain has the right stuff to lead the party, Palin, and their defense of her, has galvanized the party. She’s an outsider who fits into McCain’s plan to shake Washington loose of its complacency.

McCain came out fighting; in fact, the word fight was central to his speech. “Fight with me, fight with me. Fight for what is right in our country. Fight for the ideals and characters of a free people. Fight for our children’s future. Fight for justice and opportunity for all.”

Being a career military man and former POW, McCain knows about fighting. He also played up his maverick persona, saying he would take Republicans and Democrats to task if they stay entrenched in the old Washington ways.

He took a moment at the beginning of his speech to praise Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and his supporters for their “achievement,” but threw down the gauntlet by saying they would be battling each other the next two months. “That is the nature of these contests,” he said.

McCain brought up real people in real situations as they try to improve their lives in tough economic times. Central to his platform was cutting taxes, a time-honored GOP promise. He declared Obama would be raising taxes, which McCain said would eliminate jobs.

It’s been a long road since McCain was soundly beaten by George W. Bush in the 2000 Republican primary. Then as now, McCain was portrayed as an outsider, as a maverick who never missed an opportunity to buck the system if it failed the American people.

Now he has his chance. In the next two months, there will be a lot of talk and mudslinging between the two candidates. Debates will be held and policies trumpeted. One thing we can expect from John McCain: He’ll fight to the finish.