McCain Tells Chatshow He Will Run for President

Q: When is an announcement of a candidacy for president of the United States not an announcement? A: When it's a pre-announcement of an announcement.

Twenty months before Americans go to the polls to elect the next incumbent of the White House, the 2008 presidential elections have already become confusing - or infuriating, depending on your dispensation. In the earliest campaigning in living memory, candidates from both main parties are turning already to increasingly bizarre measures to keep themselves in the minds of donors and the party faithful.

On Wednesday night John McCain, the senator from Arizona who is one of the big Republican hopefuls, deployed what is becoming a favourite tactic - the multiple declaration of intent.

Appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman he made clear that he was running for president - a secret that has been as well kept over the past few months as Michael Jackson's penchant for plastic surgery. "I am announcing that I will be a candidate for president of the United States," he said, eliciting a genuinely surprised "Oh!" from Letterman.

Except he wasn't announcing his candidacy, he was pre-announcing it. An official declaration would be made next month. "This is the announcement preceding the formal announcement," Mr McCain said.

If this sounds too Alice-in-Wonderland even for American politics, it must be said that Mr McCain is not the only practitioner of the multiple announcement. His rival, the former mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani, told CNN earlier this month that "Yes, I'm running," only to add that he would officially announce the fact at a later unspecified date. He made clear that he would be pleased to be invited back on to CNN at that point. He could then reveal to its viewers what he had already just told them, providing a twist on the concept of rolling news.

There is a simple logic to it: money. It has been estimated that the final cost of the 2008 presidential race will be $3bn, with each of the two main nominees spending $500m each.

In addition, any candidate hoping to be taken seriously in the primary race to be nominated candidate for the two main parties must have at least $100m in their war chest well before the battle proper commences in January.

That's a lot of donations, and means candidates must do whatever it takes to keep themselves in front of the cameras. Mr McCain came close to admitting as much when he announced his pre-announcement. "You know, you drag this out as long as you can," he told Letterman. "You don't just have one rendition."