We’ve Reached the Event Horizon: McCain Officially Announces

According to the Hotline, John McCain today officially announced his candidacy for President today at a taping of the Late Show with David Letterman. Feel the drama:

McCain: “I am announcing that I will be a candidate for president of the United States.”
Letterman: “Oh!”

There’s little noteworthy about this, but it might be telling that at one point McCain wanted to hold off until late spring, and given the circumstances of Giuliani jumping out to a big and growing lead, McCain simply could not afford to play coy with voters any more. What will be interesting will be seeing if he has anything to connect with voters that Giuliani does not have.

Whatever that reason is, though, we will probably have to wait until April. That is when McCain will give his formal announcement speech, according to an AP report. He might be hoping that the chink in Giuliani’s armor (his weakness of social issues) develops by then, or simply his official candidacy gives him some momentum.