John McCain Speech At 2012 Republican Convention Has Senator In The Spotlight

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TAMPA, Fla. — Four years after he became the Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain has returned to the Republican National Convention to enumerate what he says have been the foreign policy shortcomings of the Obama administration.

On his 76th birthday, the Arizona senator focused on a subject that has received limited attention during the convention. He said the GOP's newly anointed nominee, Mitt Romney, knows that success at home depends on leadership in the world.

McCain says in the past four years the United States has drifted away from its tradition of global leadership. He criticizes President Barack Obama for committing to a date for withdrawing from Afghanistan, strained relations with Israel, not doing enough to stop impending cuts in the defense budget and not adequately supporting dissent in Iran and Syria.