McCain to Run for President

Republican senator from Arizona John McCain recently announced that he will be running for president in 2008. Speaking on the Late Show with David Letterman, he stated his intentions, adding that, "By the way, I'll be making a formal announcement in April." Although currently trailing former New York mayor Rudi Giuliani in the polls, and facing stiff competition from Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, McCain is entering the race in good standing, saying he is "happy with the way things are going."

There has never really been any doubt that McCain would run for the presidency since he lost to George Bush in 2000. Right after the midterm elections in November, the four-term senator put together a Presidential Exploratory Committee, and told the press that he saw no reason that he would not run again. McCain has, in fact, been at work on his campaign for the past two years, in his free time from his position as the highest ranking republican in the Senate Armed Services Committee. As his official campaign begins, he plans to go to Iraq, then to proceed to the west coast to raise money.

McCain's announcement that he would announce his candidacy is in keeping with a recent trend. At one time, a candidate's campaign would begin with the announcement that he was running, but in the age of CNN and real time headlines, that method has lost ground. In the past few elections candidates have instead made numerous pre-announcements on television shows and websites, playing for as much airtime as possible.

This will be McCain's second bid for America's highest office, after losing bitterly to George Bush in 2000. Since then, McCain has remained a public figure, both supporting and criticizing Bush, all the while maintaining his independence. Having always been more moderate than the current president, McCain bills himself as a "common sense conservative," and appears to be bowling strait down the middle, hoping to pick up moderate Democrats and disenfranchised Republicans, frustrated with Bush's extremism.

It is always difficult to say how it will turn out this early in the game, but it looks like McCain has a good shot at the oval office. Although the GOP has lost considerable support over the past few years over such thorny matters as the failing war in Iraq, McCain will likely have a wide appeal to moderate voters. Running against such Democratic candidates as the widely hated Hillary Clinton and the very liberal Barack Obama, McCain stands a good chance in 2008.