Bill Frist Rules Out 2008 Presidential Bid
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James Joyner | Wednesday, November 29, 2006 |
Bill Frist is giving up politics, at least for the time being, and has ruled out a White House run for 2008.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Wednesday he will not run for president in 2008, the most high-profile campaign dropout among Republicans 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. I do not intend to run for president in 2008,” Frist said in a statement — his only planned comment on the decision.
Earlier, Frist had decided not to seek a third term in the Senate. His announcement Wednesday 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.
Given that he had virtually no chance of winning, this is a smart move. It’s rather hard to claim that one is ready to lead the country after having presided over the loss of every single close race in the preceding election.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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Not to mention his horrid displays during the Terry Schaivo go-around... that alone might have gotten him enough of the hard-right religious base to totally skew the primaries & force the GOP to put up either Frist or some other freak-show candidate with zero chance of winning the general election.
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