London, Sep 4 : Alaska Governor and John McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin, launched a counterattack on her critics, and said the Republican convention hall that she had accepted the No. 2 slot on the ticket to serve the people, not to win “the good opinion” of her detractors.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I would be honoured to accept your nomination for vice president,” The Telegraph quoted Palin, as saying.

“I will be honoured to accept the nomination for vice president of the United States,” she said in the convention’s most anticipated speech. The 44-year-old, self-described “hockey mom” still awaits formal nomination for the second spot on the ticket.

Palin took crowd-delighting swipes at Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and what she called the “Washington elite.”

“Here’s a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this country,” she said.

Selected by McCain last Friday, Palin addressed the convention amid questions about her qualifications and relative lack of experience.

The first-term governor had top billing at the convention on a night delegates also lined up for a noisy roll call of the states to deliver their presidential nomination to McCain.

In another barb directed at Obama, Palin said: “Here''s how I look at the choice Americans face in this election. In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.”

Largely unknown outside her home state, Palin told the convention: “I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town. I was just your average hockey mom, and signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids'' public education better,” she said, speaking of her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, with a population of about 6,500. (ANI)