The Republican Party nominated Arizona Senator John McCain. At seventy-two he would have taken office as the nation's oldest first-term president.

JOHN MCCAIN: "So stand up with me, my friends, stand up and fight for America, for her strength, her ideals and her future. The contest begins tonight!"

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Senator John McCain at a campaign event in 2008

John McCain had been a Navy pilot during the Vietnam War. In nineteen sixty-seven, the North Vietnamese shot down his plane and took him prisoner. He was tortured and held for more than five years. He returned home a hero.

During the presidential campaign, he spoke often about his experience as a prisoner of war. His campaign message was, "Country First." Senator McCain quickly secured the Republican nomination to succeed George Bush.

The Democrats needed more time to choose a nominee. The race settled on two leading candidates. One of them was Hillary Clinton. Her husband was former president Bill Clinton. They spent eight years living in the White House. As first lady she held an unusually public role in her husband's administration. Later she was twice elected as a senator from New York. Now she was trying to return to the White House -- this time as the first woman president of the United States.

Senator Hillary Clinton campaigning in 2008

HILLARY CLINTON: "So if you want a winner who knows how to take them on, I'm your girl!"