McCain starts candidacy on TV talk show
McCain starts candidacy on TV talk show
By Edward Luce in Washington
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: March 1 2007 09:25 | Last updated: March 1 2007 21:49
John McCain, the senator from Arizona, chose the late-night David Letterman show on Wednesday to announce his official candidacy for the presidency, at a stage when his longstanding frontrunner position appears to be collapsing.
The Vietnam war hero, who has been overtaken in the polls by Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, chose the show to try to rekindle some of the outsider reputation that won him nationwide popularity during his “straight-talk express” bid in 2000.
Mr McCain is widely distrusted among Republican activists for an alleged record of “flip-flopping” on issues such as President George W. Bush’s tax cuts, which he initially opposed and now supports. In 2000 Mr McCain denounced evangelical leaders, such as Jerry Falwell, as “agents of intolerance”.
On Thursday, a group of conservative Republicans denounced Mr McCain as an “apostate” and urged conservative delegates to an annual conference in Washington to reject Mr McCain’s candidacy.
The Arizona senator was the only Republican candidate who opted not to address the gathering.
“Conservatives understand that McCain is pandering to us in the hope of minimising his past apostasy,” said the statement from the Citizens United Political Victory Fund.
In spite of the fact that Mr Giuliani is seen as a liberal on social issues by the Republican party’s evangelical base, which accounts for roughly a third of registered members, Mr McCain is even less popular with social conservatives in spite of attempts to patch things up. He has also lost broader public support for his backing of Mr Bush’s controversial “new way forward” in Iraq.
Mr McCain, who turned 70 last month, was the first of the 2008 candidates from either party to choose the informal setting of an evening chat show to declare his White House intentions.
Conceding that the American public might be confused by the number of times presidential hopefuls reveal their intentions – setting up “exploratory committees” before upgrading to the next level – Mr McCain joked: “This is the announcement preceding the formal announcement.”
Republican consultants say that they mistrust opinion polls that put Mr Giuliani so far ahead of Mr McCain and point to the broader Republican frustration with the lack of a credible social conservative candidate.
Many hope that Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, will throw his hat into the ring. But moderate Republicans say that both Mr McCain and Mr Giuliani would be far more acceptable to the broader American public than Mr Gingrich.
By Edward Luce in Washington
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: March 1 2007 09:25 | Last updated: March 1 2007 21:49
John McCain, the senator from Arizona, chose the late-night David Letterman show on Wednesday to announce his official candidacy for the presidency, at a stage when his longstanding frontrunner position appears to be collapsing.
The Vietnam war hero, who has been overtaken in the polls by Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, chose the show to try to rekindle some of the outsider reputation that won him nationwide popularity during his “straight-talk express” bid in 2000.
Mr McCain is widely distrusted among Republican activists for an alleged record of “flip-flopping” on issues such as President George W. Bush’s tax cuts, which he initially opposed and now supports. In 2000 Mr McCain denounced evangelical leaders, such as Jerry Falwell, as “agents of intolerance”.
On Thursday, a group of conservative Republicans denounced Mr McCain as an “apostate” and urged conservative delegates to an annual conference in Washington to reject Mr McCain’s candidacy.
The Arizona senator was the only Republican candidate who opted not to address the gathering.
“Conservatives understand that McCain is pandering to us in the hope of minimising his past apostasy,” said the statement from the Citizens United Political Victory Fund.
In spite of the fact that Mr Giuliani is seen as a liberal on social issues by the Republican party’s evangelical base, which accounts for roughly a third of registered members, Mr McCain is even less popular with social conservatives in spite of attempts to patch things up. He has also lost broader public support for his backing of Mr Bush’s controversial “new way forward” in Iraq.
Mr McCain, who turned 70 last month, was the first of the 2008 candidates from either party to choose the informal setting of an evening chat show to declare his White House intentions.
Conceding that the American public might be confused by the number of times presidential hopefuls reveal their intentions – setting up “exploratory committees” before upgrading to the next level – Mr McCain joked: “This is the announcement preceding the formal announcement.”
Republican consultants say that they mistrust opinion polls that put Mr Giuliani so far ahead of Mr McCain and point to the broader Republican frustration with the lack of a credible social conservative candidate.
Many hope that Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, will throw his hat into the ring. But moderate Republicans say that both Mr McCain and Mr Giuliani would be far more acceptable to the broader American public than Mr Gingrich.
posted by Carlos T Mock @ 9:34 AM
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