Despite the rain, approximately 200 people attended the outdoor rally, which was part of a five-state announcement tour beginning in New Hampshire, the state where he won his surprising victory in the 2000 presidential primary.
Once considered the front runner for the Republican nomination, McCain trails former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani in recent public opinion polls largely because of his support of the war in Iraq.
McCain, now 70 years old, would be the oldest first-term president in the history of the United States.
"I'm not the youngest candidate, but I am the most experienced," McCain said. "I know how to fight and how to make peace. I know who I am and what I want to do."
In his speech, McCain emphasized the need for bipartisan cooperation and for setting aside political concerns to focus on addressing the most pressing issues the nation faces.
"We have common purposes and common challenges, and we live in momentous times," McCain said.
"This election should be about big things, not small ones. Ours are not red-state or blue-state problems. They are national and global."
McCain discussed problems such as future social security insolvency and unemployment, and emphasized that policymakers need to focus on finding solutions now rather than deferring the decision for later generations to deal with.
He stated that Americans are unsatisfied with the current political climate and argued that partisan conflict prevented the government from acting to move the country forward. McCain pledged, however, that if he were elected president, he would set aside personal political concerns and work with congress to institute policies in the best interest of the United States.
"I'll work with anyone who is serious and sincere about solving these problems," McCain said. "When a compromise consistent with our principles is within reach, I expect us to seize it. Americans expect us to disagree, but not just to win the next election. They want us to serve the same goal: to ensure that a country blessed with our matchless prosperity, ingenuity, and strength can meet any challenge we confront."
A proponent of President Bush's surge plan in Iraq, McCain acknowledged that mistakes had been made during the early conduct of the war, but insisted that the country has learned from them.
Strengthening the military, improving intelligence and law enforcement capabilities, and expanding diplomatic efforts to combat militant extremism, he said, would be among his priorities as president.
"Don't tell me what we can't do," McCain said. "Don't tell me we can't make our country stronger, and the world safer. We can. We must. And when I'm president we will."
McCain also criticized wasteful government spending, maintaining that it encourages irresponsibility, increases that national debt, raises interest rates and contributes to inflation. He promised that as president he would balance the budget by encouraging economic growth and by holding the government accountable for its spending.
"I'm running for president of the United States," McCain said, "Not yesterday's country; not a defeated country; not a bankrupt country; not a timid and frightened country; not a country fragmented into bickering interest groups with no sense of the national interest; not a country with a bloated, irresponsible and incompetent government."
"I'm running for President of the United States, a blessed country, a proud country, a hopeful country, the most powerful and prosperous country and the greatest force for good on earth. And when I'm president, I intend to keep it so."
