Running for President: Are You or Aren't You?

Jan. 16, 2007 — -- Are you running for president? Yes or no?

It might seem like a simple question, but for the presidential campaign cycles, it's not always so simple to answer.

There's definitely a coyness at work here: the delicate balance of talk show appearances and perfectly timed announcements; the scheduled stops in specific states with specific talking points; and the almost endless speculation of who's on and who's off the campaign trail.

The buzz, the phased release of plans and the constant will-they-won't-they-and-when guessing game that occupies political pundits on Sunday morning shows are nothing new to presidential campaign cycles. But the 2008 campaign has garnered even more attention than usual. This is a race that's wide open on both sides of the aisle.

So far, five Democrats have formally declared their intent to run in 2008. Stopping just short of an official declaration, seven Republicans have filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission to form exploratory committees. Joining those seven -- via an online video declaration this morning -- Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois officially entered the race, announcing his presidential exploratory committee and promising supporters an update on his decision by Feb. 10th.

"Candidates are under some pressure to make their intentions known early," says David Chalian, Deputy Director of the ABC News Political Unit.

In a world of limited fund-raisers and political operatives, moves have to be well planned and carefully orchestrated, so that candidates can assemble an aggressive, competitive presidential campaign. A presidential exploratory committee allows them the opportunity to do that -- or find out that they can't -- from the safety of a friendly, noncommittal construct.

"The candidate who waits to reveal his or her plans risks being left far behind in this crucial early organizing phase of the campaign," Chalian explains.