John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, looked into the future and described today how he would want it to look if he were to become president.

His speech laid out an idyllic version of the state of the nation as he said he would like it to be at the end of a first term of a McCain administration.

Among the things he said he would work to make happen by the end of four years: Community colleges and technical schools would have developed worker re-training programs that helped millions of unemployed people find new jobs; Congress would have stopped passing spending bills that contain earmarks; and more enthusiastic and innovative teachers would have entered the classroom, thanks to an emphasis on programs like Teach for America and Troops to Teachers.