McCain to run for president in '08

[Gogf]

Nov. 10, 2006 — His party may have taken "a thumpin'," in the words of President Bush, but ABC News has learned that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and his political team have decided it's full steam ahead for his 2008 presidential campaign though he has yet to make the final, official decision.

Sources close to McCain say on Wednesday in Phoenix, he and a half dozen of his top aides huddled and decided to proceed more formally with his quest for the White House.

McCain told ABC News that his team will continue to meet and "go through the process of decision making." But, he added, "I certainly haven't made any decision."

A presidential exploratory committee is expected to be set up this month — perhaps as early as next week.

McCain's official, final decision will likely not come until after the Christmas holidays, after he's had a chance to talk it over with his wife, Cindy.

Among his seven children, Jimmy is at boot camp at Camp Pendleton; Jack is at the Naval Academy; and daughter Megan is in her senior year at Columbia University.

In the meantime, McCain's team is exploring office space in Virginia, hiring staff and building infrastructure in key early-primary states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Strategy Could Target Swing Voters, Bipartisan Issues

Despite Republican losses of the House and Senate, McCain sees encouraging signs for his personal quest.

Independent voters were the key swing voters in this election, going overwhelmingly for Democrats. And that could be a voting pool he would tap into.

"No question. I think voters said they want independence, they want bipartisanship, and they want a voice of moral authority on Iraq, and John McCain is all three," said former Bush adviser Mark McKinnon, who worked on the 2004 campaign.

"I've always been popular with independents," McCain said. "But I don't know [how] independents feel right now from what I see they are kind of unhappy."

Republicans will want to focus on winning them back, and according to polls, McCain is more popular with them than he is with conservative Republicans.

In exit polls, Republican voters expressed disappointment with their party on the issues of fiscal restraint and government ethics, issues McCain has tried to make his signature.

"A lot of people look at the Republican Congress and say the problem is they only took half measures of which McCain wanted to do in full measure," McKinnon said.

He said McCain has been a "leader for years" in those areas.

"All the relevant issues in the Congress now — spending reform, ethics reform — are issues that John McCain has been talking about for a long time," he said.

Why would McCain start his campaign so early?

For one, The race is wide open — with no president or vice president running for the first time in 80 years.

Already Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa have announced their intentions.

The race also looks to be expensive. In 2004, President Bush spent more than $345 million on his campaign.

Though he's considered his party's front-runner, McCain faces some considerable hurdles.

Having turned 70 in August, he would be the oldest U.S. president to get elected. And he faces at least one strong challenger within the party, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and others in the seemingly ascendant Democratic Party, such as Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill.

Moreover, McCain has yet to resolve the problems he's had with the Republican Party's conservative base.

"He has a problem with pro-lifers on judges. He … became very hostile to the Second Amendment community and supportive of gun control. He has a problem with the economic conservatives because he's been bad on taxes for six years now," said longtime critic Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, which includes individuals and businesses opposed to higher taxes.

"Conservatives who care about the tax issue are very concerned that he opposed Bush's tax cuts," Norquist said.

McCain has tried to combat that with goodwill. He appeared at 346 events for Republican candidates this election cycle and was said to be the most requested speaker for GOP candidates.

"He's built a base across the country, and unlike [in] 2000, John McCain will run a 50-state strategy," McKinnon said.

While emphasizing more bipartisan issues such as campaign finance reform and a patients' bill of rights early in the Bush presidency, McCain has more recently strongly supported the war in Iraq.

He may very well be the only serious presidential contender calling for more troops to go to Iraq.

While he opposes a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, he supported such an effort in his state — an effort that failed.

McCain has also attempted to reach out to conservative evangelical leaders, as he did with the Rev. Jerry Falwell earlier this year.

Appealing to those conservatives while keeping the independents so important to his party's 2008 hopes may pose a considerable challenge.

ABC News' Ed O'Keefe, Mark Halperin and Teddy Davis contributed to this report.

Source

I'll bet he wins it.

 

[Irish Caesar]

I'll bet he wins it.

And I bet he doesn't.

 

[Masquerouge]

Well I have a hard time seeing who else in the Reps could challenge him.
Rice? Powell?

 

[Irish Caesar]

Mitt Romney!

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I'd vote for him.

 

[Masquerouge]

Mitt Romney!

I actually had to look him up. Is there more than sarcasm to your post? Because I have a hard time figuring out why this guy should run...

 

[De Lorimier]

I used to like McCain a lot, especially after the bs that Dubya and Rove threw at him since the primaries. The sympathy feelings have worn off by now. He's becoming a giant tool. Not to say this is a bad in the world of politics, but I don't particulary care for the man.

I want Sam Brownback or Bill Frist!

 

[Trajan12]

I like the guy, I'd definatley vote for him. Hes an ex soldier, and hes got a stable head. Thus he is more than just a good choice, hes a great one.

 

[garric]

I wouldn't vote for him. He's too old for office, he'll be 80 or something and 90by the end of his term. America needs a strong man in power not an old man. Barack Obama would probaby be a better option.

 

[nc-1701]

I wouldn't vote for him. He's too old for office, he'll be 80 or something and 90by the end of his term. America needs a strong man in power not an old man. Barack Obama would probaby be a better option.

I thought you were anti-Obama? Anyway I gotta agree preferably someone u50

 

[Irish Caesar]

I actually had to look him up. Is there more than sarcasm to your post? Because I have a hard time figuring out why this guy should run...

No, I'm dead serious. The guy's a businessman, he can balance a budget without raising taxes. He's a conservative, but not part of the "Religious Right," and unlike McCain, he hasn't (that I know of) cheated on his wife.

 

[Uiler]

Man, how times have changed.

I mean I see a lot of GOP love for McCain *now* but he was being bashed and smeared by the Republican "base", *especially* the religious right and conservative media who soundly rejected him the last time he tried to run. At one point I thought that he was a Democrat and his last name was "Clinton" or "Kennedy" the way the Republican base and media supporters treated him. He was quite popular amongst moderate Republicans (you know the ones who returned years of neglect by the GOP by rejecting the GOP a couple of days back), but to the "base", man was he the anti-Christ.

Or do all the GOP regret falling for the Rove smear campaign against him?

I just find the twist in events very very funny.

 

[skadistic]

I'll bet he wins it.

And I bet he doesn't.

Should I start with the books?



I'm not sure if I'd vote for him. If Rudie was on the ticket I'd more likely.

 

[JohnRM]

I would not support him.

 

[De Lorimier]

I wouldn't vote for him. He's too old for office, he'll be 80 or something and 90by the end of his term. America needs a strong man in power not an old man. Barack Obama would probaby be a better option.

He'd be 72 in 2008. Reagan was 70 in 1981, Bush was 66 in 1989. I don't think the age would be a huge issue against a guy in his late fifties or sixites. Throw a Obama his way, things are different.

 

[Irish Caesar]

Man, how times have changed.

I mean I see a lot of GOP love for McCain *now* but he was being bashed and smeared by the Republican "base", *especially* the religious right and conservative media who soundly rejected him the last time he tried to run. At one point I thought that he was a Democrat and his last name was "Clinton" or "Kennedy" the way the Republican base and media supporters treated him.

Or do all the GOP regret falling for the Rove smear campaign against him?

I just find the twist in events very very funny.

And that was before the awful McCain-Feingold deal!

Although I believe the Supreme Court upheld that, so there's not a whole lot for us to say about it...

Should I start with the books?

Sure, what odds are you giving me?

 

[skadistic]

9-1

http://decision08.net/?page_id=1642

 

[garric]

He'd be 72 in 2008. Reagan was 70 in 1981, Bush was 66 in 1989. I don't think the age would be a huge issue against a guy in his late fifties or sixites. Throw a Obama his way, things are different.

Sure, maybe his age isn't that big of an issue. He'll be 80 by the end, though I doubt in our day and age he'll die of a heart attack or anything, but consider that his charisma is undoubtably inferior to that of Barack Obama! Barack Obama is a young black man and will appeal to many persons, blacks in particular, and white women as well. Though it is a guilty pleasure for me to be sympathetic to Obama, I do know a man who went to high-school with him, so I guess that's gotta amount to something.

http://decision08.net/?page_id=1642 is largely liberal run website so I shall not consider it a source in regards to ANYTHING.

 

[Irish Caesar]

9-1

http://decision08.net/?page_id=1642

Odd that it places odds of Ahnold winning the nomination at 200-1, considering he isn't Constitutionally legal to be elected...

 

[Little Raven]

Rice? Powell?

Romney. Frist. Giuliani. Until 3 months ago, Allen.

McCain has been doing his best to shore up support on his right flank, but he’s made a lot of enemies among the faithful. He’d be the man to beat in the general election, but first he’d have to survive the primaries. And that will be rough.