John McCain Announces Plans to Run for President

Senator John McCain announced today that he will run for President in 2008. He said he plans to make a formal announcement in April, after returning from a visit to Iraq.

The Arizona Senator chose David Letterman's "Late Show" to make what he referred to as "the announcement preceding the formal announcement." His segment of the show was posted on McCain's Web site before the show itself aired, along with a contribution form. The message on the web site said:

Tonight, I will be appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman on CBS. During this broadcast, I am going to announce that I will be a candidate for President of the United States. You have been one of my closest and most loyal supporters and I wanted you to know first. Please take a moment to fill out this form to make a generous donation to my campaign!

During the taping, McCain brought up the subject of his announcement. "The last time we were on this program, I'm sure you remember everything very clearly that we say, but you asked me if I would come back on this show if I was going to announce," McCain said. "I am announcing that I will be a candidate for president of the United States."

It has been presumed to be a fait accompli that McCain would announce his candidacy for some time. He has been busy raising money, hiring a campaign staff, setting up a campaign web site and filing paperwork for a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. In the Letterman interview he quipped that "you drag this out as long as you can."

McCain is a four-term Senator who was a POW during the Vietnam War, He has previously run for office in 2000, but lost the Republican nomination to George Bush. McCain is trailing Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York, in recent polls. In a poll taken by the Washington Post and ABC News, gathered February 22-25, Giuliani was favored by 44 percent of Republicans. McCain garnered 21 percent.

In recent years, candidates have used a variety of ways to move their campaigns to the forefront of public thought and to reach voters. In 2000, George Bush and Al Gore spoofed themselves on "Saturday Night Live." Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his gubernatorial campaign on "Tonight Show," with Jay Leno.

Sources:

www.bloomberg.com/apps/news
www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory
blogs.zdnet.com/micro-markets/