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.

A Carefully Orchestrated Process

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.

Waiting means they might miss out on the media circus, too.

Chalian says that "by announcing their presidential intentions in stages, top-tier candidates are nearly guaranteed high-profile media attention at each point along the way in their announcement roll out."

The Difference Between an Exploratory and a Campaign Committee

Put simply, there isn't one.

In the eyes of the FEC there is virtually no difference between an presidential exploratory committee and full-blown presidential campaign committee. Both file the same forms, abide by the same contribution limits and pay for expenses like staff, polling, travel, office space and advertising. Once candidacy is officially announced, monies raised are rolled over to the campaign committee.

Potential candidates, though, see it differently. By breaking the declaration process into three stages -- formation of the exploratory committee, postfiling travel to states with early nominating contests and the formal announcement of a decision and vision for the nation -- they triple their opportunities to "make news" without breaking the bank.