McCain takes possible swipe at Obama

John McCain, who cemented his status as GOP front-runner by sweeping today's primaries, looked ahead to the general election tonight and took what might be perceived as a swipe against Democrat Barack Obama's slogan of hope.

"Hope, my friends, is a powerful thing. I can attest to that better than many, for I have seen men's hopes tested in hard and cruel ways that few will ever experience. And I stood astonished at the resilience of their hope in the darkest of hours because it did not reside in an exaggerated belief in their individual strength, but in the support of their comrades, and their faith in their country," McCain told supporters in Alexandria, Va., referring to his time as prisoner of war during the Vietnam War.

"My hope for our country resides in my faith in the American character, the character which proudly defends the right to think and do for ourselves, but perceives self-interest in accord with a kinship of ideals, which, when called upon, Americans will defend with their very lives.

"To encourage a country with only rhetoric rather than sound and proven ideas that trust in the strength and courage of free people is not a promise of hope. It is a platitude."

Obama, in his speech to supporters in Madison, Wis., called McCain an "American hero," but said his priorities are "bound to the failed policies of the past."