Frist Not Running for President in 2008

I'm somewhat--but not completely--surprised by this, but Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has decided that he will not run for president in 2008. He released this statement.

Indications had been in recent years that Frist would seek the nomination although he hadn't said anything publicly. I suspect with McCain and Guiliani in the mix, Frist and his advisors felt as though the moderate wing of the party is covered. I'm still hoping that a strong, truly conservative candidate emerges in time to secure the nomination and hopefully the White House.

I read some on-line chatter yesterday that Frist might run for governor in Tennessee in 2010. His statement indicates a return to his professional and private life. Honestly, it is much too early to predict what might shake out in the race for the governor's house in four years.

We'll see more statements of who's in and who's out over the next few months. It'll be interesting to watch as the campaign unfolds. It has been a long time (if ever?) that neither a sitting president nor a vice president ran for the white house. That makes the race wide open.

Jerome