Excerpts: Remarks by U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman

SAINT PAUL, Minn. - This evening U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.) will address the 2008 Republican National Convention. Sen. Lieberman will expand on the convention’s overall theme, "Country First," and the theme for today’s program, which is "service," as he discusses John McCain’s commitment to working across party lines and ability to break the partisan divide in Washington.

Excerpts from Senator Lieberman’s remarks are below.

On why he supports John McCain to be our next president:

"And that brings me directly to why I am here tonight. What, after all, is a Democrat like me doing at a Republican convention like this? The answer is simple. I’m here to support John McCain because country matters more than party. I'm here tonight because John McCain is the best choice to bring our country together and lead our country forward. I’m here because John McCain’s whole life testifies to a great truth: being a Democrat or a Republican is important. But it is not more important than being an American."

On John McCain’s dedication to putting country before politics or self-interest:

"John understands that it shouldn’t take a natural disaster like Hurricane Gustav to get us to take off our partisan blinders and work together to get things done. It shouldn’t take a natural disaster to teach us that the American people don’t care much if you have an "R" or a "D" after your name. What they care about is: are we solving the problems they are up against every day?

"What you can expect from John McCain as President is precisely what he has done this week: which is to put country first. That is the code by which he has lived his entire life, and that is the code he will carry with him into the White House. I have personally seen John over and over again bring people together from both parties to tackle our toughest problems we face."

On John McCain’s commitment to victory in Iraq:

"Especially at a time of war, we need a president we can count on to fight for what’s right for our country - not only when it is easy, but when it is hard. When others were silent, John McCain had the judgment to sound the alarm about the mistakes we were making in Iraq. When others wanted to retreat in defeat from the field of battle, when Barack Obama was voting to cut off funding for our troops on the ground, John McCain had the courage to stand against the tide of public opinion and support the surge and because of that, today, our troops are at last beginning to come home, not in failure, but in honor!"