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'Change is coming,' he promised the revved-up crowd at the Republican National Convention and a prime-time television audience of millions.
'We need to change the way government does almost everything: from the way we protect our security to the way we compete in the world economy; from the way we respond to disasters to the way we fuel our transportation network; from the way we train our workers to the way we educate our children,' he said, mapping out the course of change.
'All these functions of government were designed before the rise of the global economy, the information technology revolution and the end of the Cold War.
'We have to catch up to history, and we have to change the way we do business in Washington.'
If his words sounded surprisingly similar to his Democratic rival Barack Obama's mantra promising 'change we can believe in' , they were meant to. At a time when 80 per cent of Americans believe the US is on the wrong track and dissatisfaction with the current Republican administration of President George W. Bush is at a record high, change would be a smart option to offer voters.
In fact, the 72-year-old Arizona Senator did not mention Mr Bush's name even once during his speech, careful not to hand the Democrats the chance to brand him 'McSame'.
Instead, he brought the crowd to its feet when he said he could not wait to introduce to Washington his wildly popular running mate Sarah Palin, who took on her own party as the Governor of Alaska.
'Let me just offer an advance warning to the old, big-spending, do-nothing, me-first-country-second crowd: Change is coming,' Mr McCain said.
He beckoned to Democrats and independents whose support he needs to win the White House.
'I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again,' he said. 'I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not.'
In words and tone, he was considerably not as harsh as Mrs Palin, who had ripped into Mr Obama in her speech the previous night. He praised Mr Obama's achievement in becoming the first black man to be a presidential candidate, before reminding voters that the freshman Illinois senator was no match for his 26 years in Congress.
He brandished his Vietnam war hero status to assert his patriotism and claim his campaign's theme of 'Country First'.
Mr Obama's sarcastic remark in his convention speech a week ago that all Americans put their country first rolled off him like water off a duck's back.
'I'm not running for president because I think I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need,' he said, bringing to mind criticism of Mr Obama as a celebrity-seeking politician. 'My country saved me, and I cannot forget it. And I will fight for her for as long as I draw breath, so help me God.'
The audience did not miss that he sounded like he was taking the oath of office, and burst into long applause.
Mr McCain tried to enhance his credentials for change by including his own party in criticism. 'We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us,' he said. 'We lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption.'
That prompted an instant rebuttal from the Obama campaign. Said spokesman Bill Burton: 'He admonished the 'old, do-nothing crowd' in Washington, but ignored the fact that he's been part of that crowd for 26 years.'
But not many in the audience were buying that. 'It looks like we've found our next president,' said Mr John Quintanilla, a 38-year-old florist from California. 'Take who he is and what he said tonight and add Palin's record as a reformer. I'm looking forward to the next four years.'
