Calling on the memory of the late President John F. Kennedy, John McCain on Tuesday faulted both Republicans and Democrats on their efforts to control the spread of nuclear weapons.

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He also called for talks with China to negotiate a temporary halt to production of nuclear weapons-grade material and with Russia on a new treaty to destroy more nuclear weapons. He also advocated a cut in U.S. stockpiles.

"Today we deploy thousands of nuclear warheads," McCain said. "It is my hope to move as rapidly as possible to a significantly smaller force." He did not set a specific goal but said the number would be consistent with U.S. security and global commitments.

"If you look back over the past two decades, I don't think any of us, Republican or Democrat, can take much satisfaction in what we've accomplished to control nuclear proliferation," he said.

"Forty-five years ago, President John F. Kennedy asked the American people to imagine what the world would look like if nuclear weapons spread beyond the few powers that then held them to the many other nations that sought the," McCain said. "If that happened, he warned, 'there would be no rest for anyone.'"

"Kennedy's warning resonates more today than ever before," McCain said.

The likely Republican nominee said in a speech at the University of Denver that he favors an approach that doesn't rely too heavily on either direct talks or military force to reduce the spread of nuclear weapons.

"We should stop and think for a moment not only of the perils of a world awash with nuclear weapons, but also of the more hopeful alternative –- a world in which there are far fewer such weapons than there are today, and in which proliferation, instability, and nuclear terrorism are far less likely. This is the world it is our responsibility to build."

As he talked, anti-war protesters interrupted him four times. They stood up and yelled, "Stop this war," before the crowd tried to drown them out and they were escorted out.