McCain praises Clinton, hits Obama

John McCain praises Hillary Clinton, appealing to her supporters who have said they might vote for him, and lambastes Barack Obama, who is likely to best her tonight for the Democratic nomination.

"Senator Clinton has earned great respect for her tenacity and courage," McCain plans to say tonight in Louisiana, according to speech excerpts released by his campaign. "The media often overlooked how compassionately she spoke to the concerns and dreams of millions of Americans, and she deserves a lot more appreciation than she sometimes received. As the father of three daughters, I owe her a debt for inspiring millions of women to believe there is no opportunity in this great country beyond their reach. I am proud to call her my friend."

The presumptive Republican nominee directly addresses a core criticism of Democrats -- that he represents more of President Bush -- and says he differed from the president on the Iraq war, energy policy, and other issues. He also says he has a record of bipartisan cooperation that enables him to bring change.

"You will hear from my opponent’s campaign in every speech, every interview, every press release that I’m running for President Bush’s third term. You will hear every policy of the President described as the Bush-McCain policy. Why does Senator Obama believe it’s so important to repeat that idea over and over again? Because he knows it’s very difficult to get Americans to believe something they know is false. So he tries to drum it into your minds by constantly repeating it rather than debate honestly the very different directions he and I would take the country. But the American people didn’t get to know me yesterday, as they are just getting to know Senator Obama. They know I have a long record of bipartisan problem solving. They’ve seen me put our country before any President -- before any party -- before any special interest -- before my own interest. They might think me an imperfect servant of our country, which I surely am. But I am her servant first, last and always."

UPDATE: At the speech, McCain is unveiling a new campaign slogan that plays off Obama's "Change We Can Believe In."

"A Leader We Can Believe In," McCain's backdrop says.