please don't fall for it...they are just floating it around, gauging the reaction...so you are giving it to them.

Just ignore it. Rather than providing caveat after caveat...'whispers, likely entirely unfounded'...oy

We should be sending cakes with 72 candles on it to every newsroom in the country on his birthday. That would look so cool, especially if it is a somewhat smallish cake that looks incredible overwhelmed with candles.

Carpetbagger John tried that stuff when he ran for Senator the first time.. Then it was a "mandate" for the pig to suck at the government teat for years to come.

Guy's a total fraud.

I'm sure he just remembers when he was a kid and it worked for James K. Polk. But McCain is no James K. Polk!

. . . uh, because . . . because . . .

Jeez, I'm drawing a complete blank on this one. I can't think of a single reason to believe John McCain's telling the truth here, and LOTS of reasons to think he's lying.

I wrote about this earlier today over at Open Salon: http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=8446

Basically, while one can understand the McCain thinking on this alleged strategy, it is ultimately a desperate ploy that can only do harm.

Johnny McBombBomb, serial adulterer, won't have to worry about relinquishing power, the bitter old fart. He won't have any. As he did over North Vietnam, he's going down in flames.

Voters understand and expect politicians to be power-hungry, and agreeing to give some up, rather than creating empathy, just sets off alarms. It looks weak.

Don't get into the habit of attributing your own opinion to "voters".

Weakness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

If indeed McCain makes a pledge to be a one-term president, he will have largely undercut the only issue that Dems are using against him, the age issue, and should he win in November he will have four years to appoint federal judges and SCOTUS justices and decisively win the Iraq war.

Sounds like a plan to me!!

There is an obvious reason for this ploy. McCain wants HRC loyalists to think the idea of Hillary 2012 is realistic. That's the sole reason for this. Otherwise, very dumb idea.

Why would McCain want to say he would only serve a third term? Simple, he is pandering to Hillary Clinton voters. More reason for Obama to make her vice-president with his minimal lead.

McNugget

What makes anyone actually believe that "President McCain would actually keep his word to not run for re-eleciton? Especially when the media, his Base, can be counted upon to provide him with every possible alibi.

You've got to be a moron to think this has anything to do with McCain's age. This has everything to do with telling the electorate his term in office won't be a 4 year reelection campaign a la Bush, Clinton.

Bush and the Republicans have made such a horrid mess of this country that I doubt anyone could survive the next presidential term. The mess we have now is just the beginning of the consequences of many years of bad policy. The really serious shit will hit the fan during the next president's term.

the reporting in the war room!

Re: "The really serious shit will hit the fan during the next president's term."

And, if the President's name is "Obama", count on FoxNews to scream it is "All Barak's Fault!" every single day.

However, should the president's name be "McCain", they will have to continue declaring, "It's all Clinton's Fault!"

I had the impression that McCain knows he is going down so the last gasp of the current "Republican Party" is to plant some desperate seed early in the campaign that McCain can then use later to pressure Obama to make the same promise; thereby, opening the presidency for another challenge in 4-years.

It's totally foolish if that's their motivation because -- despite that he would never go for such a deal anyway -- Obama has already proved through his treatment of progressives that his word is no good anyway. He's like any other "political professional" -- he'll promise you whatever it takes to get you on the bus to the polls.

Other neocon subgroups have figured out how to play Obama -- buy him off. George Soros can call himself whatever he pleases but look where he puts his money. He's as neoconsevative as a Lieberman family bar mitzvah in Tel Aviv. It really doesn't matter whether Obama or the Clintons call themselves Democrats or, for that matter, what all the Democrats in Congress call themselves. Look at who they actually represent. Look at who is dolling out the cash.

Personally, I'm not even going to waste gas driving to the polls in November. Gore Vidal warned us years ago that we have a one party system and its all about the oligarchs they serve. It doesn't matter is Obama serves one term of four terms; he ain't going to call the shots. He's going to do what he's told. McCain is just a lot more obvious about it. He had to bury his nose in Dubya's armpit to prove his loyalty. Obama is having to tour Jerusalem and put appropriately whinny sticky notes in the Wall.

Do we progressives sound cynical? Oh no. We're not cynical.

"my friends, (wicked smile), i know i made a pledge to serve only one term, but now that we are fighting a war, duty calls, and thus i must continue to serve another term until we have achieved Victory."

McCain does'nt deserve any term. What has this candidate done to deserve to be elected? Does he not realize that his youth and usefulness has expired. Just as his old anequated ideas are no longer valid, he must face the facts. Barack Obama will bring a fresh new approach do dealing with the issues confronting this nation as well as the World.

McCain seems to rely upon the Media to promote his candidacy, based solely on a continuation of the spirit of Bush/Cheney,as the best representation for this nation.