February 28, 2007
McCain's In, But Does He Float?
According to the CBS "Evening News," John McCain announced his candidacy during his appearance with David Letterman. From the "Evening News" broadcast:
At 6:49pm (bit late in the broadcast),
Katie Couric: "Well we've been expecting it for some time, but today Sen. John McCain made it official."
Clip:
McCain: "I am announcing that I will be a candidate for president of the United States."
Letterman: "Oh!"
Back to Katie:
Couric: "The Arizona Republican made the announcement during the taping of tonight's 'Late Show with David Letterman.' This will be his second run for the White House. He lost the Republican nomination to George W. Bush in 2000."
Couric then transitioned to the McCain-Kennedy "comprehensive new immigration bill."
While McCain appearing on an info-tainment show is not news, his choice of announcing on Letterman is intriguing for two reasons. 1) Letterman is considered a bit more "blue state" than his counterpart Jay Leno. 2) Nothing says "I'm not old" than announcing on one of the late night shows.
One key question: Does this mean McCain's "why I am running for president" announcement is going to come sooner (i.e. before the end of the 1st fundraising quarter) or later?
Update: AP's Sidoti has the Letterman announcement update and also reports that McCain's formal announcement (i.e. the "why I'm running" speech) will come in early April -- after the 1st quarter fundraising. Does this mean McCain's camp believes his 2ndQ fundraising will be stronger than his 1stQ?
Posted at 07:02 PM
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