Within hours of accepting the nomination at the Republican National Convention, McCain sent an e-mail appeal for donations, arguing that he and vice presidential pick Sarah Palin stood for reform.

The veteran Arizona senator, taking his rival’s central campaign theme of change, argued that his more than two-decades of experience in Washington made him more likely to shake up the halls of power than the 47-year-old Obama, a first-term senator who is seeking to become the first black U.S. president.

McCain’s nomination ended an eight-year quest for the Republican nomination, and marked the climax of a stunning comeback for a man who almost saw his prize elude him again last year.

The former Vietnam prisoner of war called for an end to the “constant partisan rancor” in his acceptance speech Thursday night, looking to win over support of independents and moderate Democrats whose votes may be decisive in the November election.

McCain must persuade Americans dissatisfied with President George W. Bush to elect another Republican to the White House with only two months remaining before the election.

McCain and Palin left Minnesota immediately after his speech, bound for Democratic-tilting Wisconsin. Obama planned campaign and fundraising events in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, states that are expected to be key if he is to win the presidency.

Strategists for the campaigns argued Friday that McCain and Obama would be engaged in debate over new directions for public policy, with Obama adviser David Axelrod driving home the message that McCain was offering the policies of the Bush administration.

“Last night Sen. McCain used the word ‘change,’ but the policies that he describes were very familiar,” Axelrod said on “The Early Show” on CBS. “This isn’t change, this is more of the same.”

In his Friday e-mail to supporters, McCain denounced “Democratic operatives” whom he said “have stooped lower than anyone could have imagined.”

The dig appeared to be a reference to Palin’s announcement earlier this week that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter was five months’ pregnant. Palin, Alaska’s governor, said Internet rumors about her family had led her to reveal her daughter’s pregnancy. Questions have also arisen about whether she has enough experience, and about her efforts as a small town mayor to gain millions of dollars in federal money — at odds with McCain’s message of fiscal reform.

But, Palin appeared to be drawing a relatively response from voters even as her selection was having little impact on whom they were likely to support.

According to an ABC News poll released Friday, 50 percent of respondents said they had a favorable impression of her, compared to 37 percent unfavorable — less than their 54 percent to 30 percent favorable view of Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden.

People say her choice makes them likelier to vote for the McCain ticket by a slender 25 percent to 19 percent who say less likely. Just 42 percent say Palin has the experience necessary to serve as president.

McCain’s acceptance speech took a very different tone from that of Palin, seizing on the message of change that helped Obama take the Democratic nomination. The vice presidential pick electrified the party faithful with a sarcastic attack on Obama and lashed out at those who consider her too inexperienced to be vice president.

The 72-year-old McCain, who would be the oldest first-term president in history, used his speech to present himself as a reformer willing to take on his fellow Republicans, including Bush — to whom he lost the presidential nomination in 2000.

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