McCain: "The contest begins tonight"

Minutes after former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee dropped out of the race, Sen. John McCain mounted a Texas stage to address supporters, for the first time as his party's nominee.

In sight of a banner reading "1191" - the number of delegates necessary to lock up the Republican presidential nomination - McCain, who clinched the nomination with a sweep of all four states at stake in today's primaries, handed out thanks all around.

"Thank you Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island. I am very grateful for the broad support you have given our campaign," said McCain. "I want to thank all of you here – Republicans, independents, and independent-thinking Democrats."

He also expressed his gratitude to his friends and family before moving on to lay the groundwork for his general election campaign. He sought to draw distinctions with the two Democratic contenders on Iraq and Afghanistan, international trade and tax policy.

"America is at war in two countries. It is of little use to Americans for their candidates to re-litigate the issues of the past," said McCain, who went on to say the next president will need to declare "how he or she intends to bring the campaign to as swift a conclusion as possible" without reigniting sectarian violence or "emboldening our enemies to attack us with weapons we dare not allow them to possess."

"I’ll leave it to my opponents to argue we should abrogate trade agreements," said McCain on NAFTA, going on to say he would "leave it to my opponents" to adopt protectionism as a trade policy and "propose returning to the big government mandates of the '60s and '70s."

However, on the traditional Democratic issue of the environment, McCain did not draw a distinction, saying he proposes to "reduce the dangerous reliance on foreign oil" and "make the country safer, cleaner and more prosperous by leading the world in discovery and use of alternative sources of energy."

After returning to the "platitudes over principles" theme he has increasingly painted his Democratic opponents with - especially as Sen. Barack Obama has gained momentum - McCain finished on a high note.

"Stand up and fight for America," he implored the throng; "her strength, her ideals and her future."

He added: "The contest begins tonight."