Washington - US Senator John McCain of Arizona officially
announced he is running for president by telling a late-night
talk-show host that he will seek the centre-right Republican Party's
nomination.
'I am announcing that I will be a candidate for president of the
United States,' McCain, 70, told comedian David Letterman, host of
the Late Show, on Wednesday.
The declaration brought applause from the audience of the New
York-based show, aired around midnight but taped several hours
earlier. Letterman, a sarcastic fixture of late-night television for
nearly 25 years, known for rarely taking anything seriously, clapped
politely with the audience.
McCain, a former US Navy pilot who spent several years as a
prisoner of war after being shot down over Vietnam, said that he
would give a speech in April to formally declare his candidacy in the
November 2008 election.
In 2000, McCain first ran for president, losing the Republican
nomination to now-President George W Bush, who will not run again
because he is limited to two four-year terms. McCain has long
acknowledged his intention to seek the presidency in 2008, and he
formed an exploratory committee last year.
His announcement to Letterman recalls the 2003 declaration on The
Tonight Show with Jay Leno, another late-night talk and comedy
programme, by actor Arnold Schwarzenegger of his successful run for
governor of California.
McCain is best-known for his support of legislation to limit
involvement by independent political campaign groups and more
recently for advocating a buildup of US troops to improve security in
Iraq.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
USA
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