Coburn Not Mulling Prez Run

With all of the candidates running for president, why not an Oklahoman?

Former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, a Republican, flirted (very briefly) with the idea but decided against it and is now campaigning occasionally for Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona.

Now comes a rumor passed on by the conservative American Spectator magazine, and repeated by a blog connected with the Libertarian Reason magazine, that Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, is “mulling” a run for the White House.

Coburn, elected to the Senate in 2004 and a U.S. House member from 1995 to 2001, thinks he could be the true Reagan conservative in the race, according to the magazine item.

Which is why Keating also pondered the race. And apparently why former Sen. Fred Thompson is considering the race. And it may be why all of the Republicans are in the race.

John Hart, one of Coburn’s top aides, responded to The Oklahoman with a brief statement:

“Dr. Coburn has never ‘mulled’ running for president and has no intention of running.”

The next Oklahoma rumor will likely focus on OU President David Boren, a former U.S. senator, whose name always seems to come up as either a potential presidential contender or running mate.

A conservative, but a Democrat, Boren would likely not use the Reagan rationale. At least for the primaries.

Chris Casteel
Washington Bureau