Sept. 5 (Bloomberg) -- John McCain accepted the Republican nomination for president with a vow to ``restore the principles'' of his party and transform Washington.

``We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us,'' McCain said at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, last night. ``We lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption.''

McCain, 72, an Arizona senator, sought to build on the enthusiasm spurred the previous evening by his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, 44. After days of questions about whether she had enough experience to lead, Palin delivered an address that had delegates raving about her speaking skills and ability to take on Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

McCain told cheering convention-goers that he was proud to introduce Palin to the country and said, ``I can't wait until I introduce her to Washington.'' Together, he said, they would ``shake up'' the capital. ``Change is coming,'' he promised.

In a speech that lasted almost 50 minutes, McCain focused on his record of service as a prisoner of war in Vietnam and his fights to reduce wasteful government spending. One of his most impassioned moments came when he vowed to take on unnecessary special projects in so-called government earmarks.

`Know Their Names'

``The first big-spending pork-barrel earmark bill that comes across my desk, I will veto it,'' McCain said. As for the lawmakers who requested the earmarks, ``I will make them famous,'' he said. ``You will know their names.''

The Republican Party, ``the party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan, is going to get back to basics,'' he said.

Other than a conclusion in which McCain urged delegates to ``fight,'' ``stand up,'' and ``never give up,'' his speech was more subdued and caused less excitement in the convention hall than that of his vice presidential nominee.

Palin quickly emerged as a flashpoint after being selected by McCain on Aug. 29. Her presence on the ticket energized social conservatives, who like her stance against abortion and that she speaks about governing with ``a servant's heart.'' And she won more converts in St. Paul.

``She was dynamic,'' said Jim Durkin, 47, an Illinois legislator and state chairman for the McCain campaign. ``What most impressed me was that she's taken so many punches over the past few days, and she showed she can really deliver one.''

$10 Million Haul

Palin also revved up the opposition. Obama reported raising more than $10 million yesterday, a one-day record, after the Republican governor criticized the Democratic nominee's experience in her speech.

``Sarah Palin's attacks have rallied our supporters in ways we never expected,'' Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton said.

Palin skewered Democrats and the news media as a ``Washington elite'' in her introduction to a national audience two days ago. Contrasting herself with Obama, she said, ``I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.''

Palin was mayor of Wasilla, with a population of less than 10,000, before she became Alaska's governor in December 2006; Obama, 47, a U.S. senator from Illinois, worked as a community organizer in Chicago and a state legislator before running for national office.

Distorting Record?

Obama said yesterday that such attacks distort his record.

``They're talking about the three years of work I did right out of college as if I'm making the leap from two or three years out of college to the presidency,'' Obama said after campaigning in York, Pennsylvania. He said he highlights his community work because it shows ``where I'm coming from'' and demonstrates his commitment to fighting for middle- and lower-income people.

Former Democratic presidential candidate Gary Hart, who served as a groomsman at McCain's second wedding, yesterday criticized the choice of Palin, calling it ``irresponsible,'' in an interview with ABC News. ``There are minimum standards; you have to qualify to govern this country,'' Hart said.

Yet Palin's addition to the ticket provided a boost to McCain. The day after McCain announced her as his running mate, his campaign took in a record $6.8 million. His crowds also swelled. After focusing on events with a few hundred people, McCain greeted 10,000 in Pennsylvania on Aug. 30 and 22,000 in Missouri on Aug. 31 with Palin at his side.

Audience

Palin, little-known beyond her state's borders, got a television audience of 37.2 million people, or about a quarter of American households, for her convention address, the Nielsen Co. said. That's just shy of the 38.4 million who watched Obama's acceptance speech last week from Denver.

``Palin electrified the Republican base while shifting media attention, and America's attention, toward her rather than Obama,'' said Julian Zelizer, a history and public affairs professor at Princeton University in New Jersey. ``McCain gave a mediocre speech, but that was the most people expected. His life story is what the GOP hopes to sell.''

McCain's nomination caps an improbable rise. Once the Republican front-runner, he was all but written off last year after his campaign was broke and in disarray, causing him to sink in the polls. In his speech tonight, McCain thanked supporters who ``stood by me when the odds were long.''

Cutting Taxes

He also praised Obama's achievement in winning the Democratic nomination before outlining his differences with the Illinois senator.

``I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can; my opponent will raise them,'' McCain said. ``I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them.''

The Obama campaign rebutted the speech, saying the Democrat has pledged to cut taxes for middle-class families. Obama has said he would raise levies on the highest-income brackets by letting President George W. Bush's tax cuts expire.

Two polls released yesterday differed on the state of the presidential race. A Sept. 1-3 CBS News survey showed the race tied, with McCain and Obama each at 42 percent. A CBS poll taken last weekend had Obama ahead by 8 percentage points.

The daily Gallup tracking poll, also from Sept. 1-3, showed Obama with a 7-point lead, a 1-point increase over the previous day. Obama was supported by 49 percent of those surveyed by Gallup and McCain by 42 percent.

Open Question

The conflicting polls leave the question open about how much Palin has affected McCain's support as the two prepare to campaign together today in Wisconsin and Michigan.

Palin is only the second woman to be nominated for the second-highest office in the nation. Democratic vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 also ``was a great big deal as the first female, and she played to enthusiastic Democratic audiences,'' said Bruce Buchanan, a political scientist at the University of Texas in Austin.

Still, because she and presidential nominee Walter Mondale were running against popular incumbent Ronald Reagan, Ferraro's candidacy had little effect in the end, he said.

While Palin roused the party base at the convention, it remains to be seen how she'll be received by the nation, Buchanan said.

``She has to continue to earn her spurs on the campaign trail,'' he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kristin Jensen in St. Paul at kjensen@bloomberg.net; Catherine Dodge in St. Paul at cdodge1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 5, 2008 00:41 EDT