Bill Frist: Thanks, But No Thanks
His announcement that he WILL NOT seek the Republican nomination in '08 comes as a surprise to a few, but not to us.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said today that he will not run for president in 2008, a high-profile campaign dropout more than a year before the first convention delegates are chosen.
"In the Bible, God tells us for everything there is a season, and for me, for now, this season of being an elected official has come to a close," said the Tennessee Republican, a surgeon before he entered politics in 1994.
He said he "will take a sabbatical from public life" and "return to my professional roots as a healer and to refocus my creative energies on innovative solutions to seemingly insurmountable challenges Americans face."
Mr. Frist announced when he first ran for the Senate that he would retire after two terms. His decision not to seek the White House thus caps a 12-year stint in electoral politics in which he rose from an underdog in his 1994 Senate campaign to the position of majority leader a mere eight years later.
Among the Republicans already exploring a White House bid are Sen. John McCain of Arizona, former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Other potential Republican contenders include Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Govs. George E. Pataki of New York and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, and Rep. Duncan Hunter of California.
Democrats also have an extensive roster of potential presidential hopefuls. Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois are the best known nationally; outgoing Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will be first to formally declare his candidacy, tomorrow, in his home state. Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana also is weighing a bid.
Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, a Democrat, has announced he will not run for the presidency in 2008. Mr. Warner, like Mr. Frist, had begun putting into place a campaign organization to raise money and line up supporters in early caucus and primary states, as well as nationally.
If I may speak honestly about this, we did not give former Sen. Frist much of a chance, considering the field of potential nominees that are announcing their intentions. We are actually surprised at the amount of "also-rans" that are challenging the big favorites, and no offense to his supporters, we considered Bill Frist one of those. This nomination process coming up for '08 is not going to be easy for any nominee.
We are happy to see him bow out now, rather than engage the field, and look even worse than we were predicting. We wish him the best in his return to medicine, and hope that he enjoys the return to normal life. Despite our feelings regarding how he led (or did not lead) the Senate GOP, we know that he tried his hardest to do what was necessary to help the nation and the president.
Good luck, senator.
Marcie
His announcement that he WILL NOT seek the Republican nomination in '08 comes as a surprise to a few, but not to us.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said today that he will not run for president in 2008, a high-profile campaign dropout more than a year before the first convention delegates are chosen.
"In the Bible, God tells us for everything there is a season, and for me, for now, this season of being an elected official has come to a close," said the Tennessee Republican, a surgeon before he entered politics in 1994.
He said he "will take a sabbatical from public life" and "return to my professional roots as a healer and to refocus my creative energies on innovative solutions to seemingly insurmountable challenges Americans face."
Mr. Frist announced when he first ran for the Senate that he would retire after two terms. His decision not to seek the White House thus caps a 12-year stint in electoral politics in which he rose from an underdog in his 1994 Senate campaign to the position of majority leader a mere eight years later.
Among the Republicans already exploring a White House bid are Sen. John McCain of Arizona, former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Other potential Republican contenders include Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Govs. George E. Pataki of New York and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, and Rep. Duncan Hunter of California.
Democrats also have an extensive roster of potential presidential hopefuls. Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois are the best known nationally; outgoing Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will be first to formally declare his candidacy, tomorrow, in his home state. Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana also is weighing a bid.
Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, a Democrat, has announced he will not run for the presidency in 2008. Mr. Warner, like Mr. Frist, had begun putting into place a campaign organization to raise money and line up supporters in early caucus and primary states, as well as nationally.
If I may speak honestly about this, we did not give former Sen. Frist much of a chance, considering the field of potential nominees that are announcing their intentions. We are actually surprised at the amount of "also-rans" that are challenging the big favorites, and no offense to his supporters, we considered Bill Frist one of those. This nomination process coming up for '08 is not going to be easy for any nominee.
We are happy to see him bow out now, rather than engage the field, and look even worse than we were predicting. We wish him the best in his return to medicine, and hope that he enjoys the return to normal life. Despite our feelings regarding how he led (or did not lead) the Senate GOP, we know that he tried his hardest to do what was necessary to help the nation and the president.
Good luck, senator.
Marcie
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 5:19 PM
1 Comments:
Senator Frist did not bring anything unique to the 2008 Republican field. It clears the field up slightly, and it will be interesting to watch it shape up over the coming months.
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