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The McCain campaign has released the following excerpts ahead of Republican presidential nominee John McCain's speech tonight at the GOP convention:

"I’m very proud to have introduced our next Vice President to the country. But I can’t wait until I introduce her to Washington. And let me offer an advance warning to the old, big spending, do nothing, me first, country second Washington crowd: change is coming."

"The constant partisan rancor that stops us from solving these problems isn’t a cause, it’s a symptom. It’s what happens when people go to Washington to work for themselves and not you. Again and again, I’ve worked with members of both parties to fix problems that need to be fixed. That’s how I will govern as President. I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again. I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not."

"I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else’s. I loved it not just for the many comforts of life here. I loved it for its decency; for its faith in the wisdom, justice and goodness of its people. I loved it because it was not just a place, but an idea, a cause worth fighting for. I was never the same again. I wasn’t my own man anymore. I was my country’s.”

Read the whole speech here.

Has the Republican brand really gotten this bad? CongressDaily is reporting that "[n]ine of 12 targeted Republicans running in the most competitive Senate races this fall are either skipping the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn., or have not decided whether to attend."

The group includes embattled Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, New Hampshire's John Sununu, and Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina.

It perhaps isn't shocking that these candidates would avoid St. Paul: Polls have shown that President George W. Bush, who will speak at the convention, has a sub-30 percent approval rating, while the Republican Party as a whole is seen more negatively than positively.

Democrats, meanwhile, are generally seen more positively than negatively in polls, and most seem eager to grasp the coattails of presumptive nominee Barack Obama: CongressDaily writes that "most Democrats in those races are either planning to attend the party's late August convention in Denver or are leaning toward attending the event."

The outlet also notes that Republicans aren't citing Mr. Bush or John McCain as their reason for passing on the convention, saying instead that they have to focus on campaigning.