Posted on 11/13/2006 8:31:46 AM PST by freespirited
Sen. John McCain's announcement that he's exploring a 2008 presidential bid has Staten Island power brokers enthused about the popular lawmaker's prospects and his ties to the borough.
"He's been a frequent visitor to these shores," said former Borough President Guy Molinari last night. "He's near and dear to my heart. He'd be a great president."
Molinari -- who headed McCain's New York campaign in 2000 after initially backing George W. Bush for president -- still has strong ties to McCain. But he's got strong ties to another possible 2008 contender -- former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
Giuliani, whom Molinari recruited to run for mayor and mentored early on in his career, was hailed for his leadership following the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
"I love them both. I think both would be great presidents," said Molinari. "I don't think I'm going to be in a position where I'm forced to pick sides.... Wouldn't it be great to have a ticket with both of them?"
Molinari wouldn't say who he'd support if it came down to picking one over the other.
McCain, who appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press" yesterday, said he'll form an exploratory committee as the first step toward a possible run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.
"Are we doing the things organizationally and legally that need to be done to prepare for it? Yes," said McCain.
The Arizona Republican, who lost a primary bid to Bush in 2000, said he won't make a final decision until talking with his family over the holidays.
Politicians on both sides of the Island's political aisle said they weren't surprised by McCain's move.
"I think it's certainly no shock to anybody," said state Assemblyman Vincent Ignizio (R-South Shore). "Just speaking for myself, what I would need to see, who are the other candidates, what'll they bring to the table?"
He called Islanders "very lucky" that three potential Republican candidates -- McCain, Giuliani and outgoing Gov. George E. Pataki -- have strong links here.
Staten Island Democratic leader John Lavelle said McCain's announcement came as no surprise -- "McCain's been running for president for over six years now."
Lavelle, a North Shore assemblyman, said McCain "would have been a better president than the one we have," but balked at the idea of a McCain-Giuliani ticket.
"We'll be around to remind people of Rudy Giuliani on Sept. 10, 2001," he said .
Just five days after midterm elections that returned control of the House and Senate to Democrats, prospective presidential candidates in both parties put down markers about their intentions for 2008.
Accelerated primary schedules and fund-raising requirements will make it necessary for candidates to start their campaigns in the next few months.
Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., who becomes chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, said on ABC News's "This Week" that "I still plan on running."
Another prospective candidate, Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., said he will not run. He told supporters in an e-mail that he will decline the "great adventure" of a presidential run because his three-term seniority in the Senate will allow him to "best advance" liberal causes.
The 2008 race is expected to be particularly active because it will be the first time in decades that neither party has an incumbent president or vice president in the race.
Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack last week became the first to announce his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Others who have expressed interest are Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who leads in opinion polls, Barack Obama (Ill.), Christopher Dodd (Conn.), Evan Bayh (Ind.) and John Kerry (Mass), former senator John Edwards (N.C.) and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.
Another contender, former Virginia governor Mark Warner, announced before the midterm elections that he wouldn't run.
In addition to McCain and Giuliani, prospective Republican candidates include Govs. Mitt Romney (Mass.) and Mike Huckabee (Ark.), Sens. Bill Frist (Tenn.) and Sam Brownback (Kansas).
McCain yesterday positioned himself as a candidate who would restore Republican principles. He said voters last week decided "that we Republicans have lost our way, that we came to Washington to change government, and government changed us: the spending, the ethics, the massive programs such as Medicare prescription drug program, our failure to address their priorities as opposed to our own."
I wish the same thing even though he's not my Senator.
The Democrat media want this pig in a poke to be nominated sooooo bad. We will get creamed with this flake as our canidate. He will make our party a minority and the Democrats will win if he is nominated.
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