To repeated cheers from his delegates, McCain made only passing reference to an unpopular George W. Bush and criticized fellow Republicans as well as Democratic rival Barack Obama in reaching out to independents and swing voters who will pick the next president.

"We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us," he said of the Republicans who controlled Congress for a dozen years before they were voted out of office in 2006.

As for Obama, he said, "I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them. I will cut government spending. He will increase it."

McCain touched only briefly on the Iraq war - a conflict that Obama has vowed to end.

"I fought for the right strategy and more troops in Iraq, when it wasn't a popular thing to do," the Republican said, adding that in the months since, the long-suffering nation had been spared from defeat.

McCain's appearance was the climax of the final night of the party convention, coming after delegates made Palin the first female vice presidential nominee in Republican history.

"She stands up for what's right and she doesn't let anyone tell her to sit down," McCain said of the woman who has faced intense scrutiny.

"And let me offer an advance warning to the old, big-spending, do-nothing, me-first, country-second Washington crowd: Change is coming," McCain declared.

McCain and Palin were departing their convention city immediately after the Arizona senator's acceptance speech, bound for Wisconsin and an early start on the final weeks of the White House campaign.

McCain, at 72, bidding to become the oldest first-term president, drew a roar from the convention crowd when he walked out onto the stage lighted by a single spotlight. He was introduced by a video that dwelt heavily on his time spent as a prisoner of war in Vietnam and as a member of Congress, hailed for a "faithful unyielding love for America, country first."

"USA, USA, USA," chanted the crowd in the hall.

McCain faced a delicate assignment as he formally accepted his party's presidential nomination: presenting his credentials as a reformer willing to take on his own party and stressing his independence from an unpopular President Bush - all without breaking faith with his Republican base.

He set about it methodically.

"After we've won, we're going to reach out our hand to any willing patriot, make this government start working for you again," he said, and he pledged to invite Democrats and independents to serve in his administration.

He mentioned Bush only in passing, as the leader who led the country through the days after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

And there was plenty for conservative Republicans to cheer - from his pledge to free the country from the grip of its dependence on foreign oil, to a vow to have schools answer to parents and students rather than "unions and entrenched bureaucrats."

A man who has clashed repeatedly with Republicans in Congress, he said proudly, "I've been called a maverick. Sometimes it's meant as a compliment and sometimes it's not. What it really means is I understand who I work for.

"I don't work for a party. I don't work for a special interest. I don't work for myself. I work for you."

*On the road - again to Michigan*

It was a momentous night for McCain, but he is already on the campaign trail again - today at 5 p.m. at the Freedom Hill Amphitheatre in Sterling Heights, Mich.

Michigan is generally considered a battleground state but hasn't voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1988, when it went red for George H.W. Bush.

Paul Abramson, an MSU political science professor and national elections expert, said he would be "quite surprised" if Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama didn't take Michigan.

Despite this, Carrie White, chairwoman of MSU Students for John McCain will be one of 60 students headed to the McCain rally today.

"I think that is a very, very good sign to everyone that one, he can win Michigan," she said. "And two, to prove how important Michigan will be in this election."