Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has already had his chance to run for president and lost the Republican nomination to President George W. Bush in 2000.I have a great deal of respect for this Arizona senator and former prisoner of war, but his time has passed.

As political science professor James Riddlesperger once said, it is hard for someone who has served in the Senate to run for president because his voting history gives his opponents a source of ammunition to use against him.

Take the recent example of his vote of support for the Lieberman Amendment to establish a Senate Office of Public Integrity, which failed on Jan. 18.

Of the 49 Republicans in the Senate, he was one of only five to vote for the amendment.

And, while I would applaud his intentions, I would also point out that voting the opposite of your party is no way to garner party support for a presidential nomination.

It is true that McCain is on the same page as the GOP when it comes to the Iraq War, which I predict will top the list as the biggest campaign issue in 2008.

“McCain, meanwhile, has been an outspoken defender of President Bush’s plan to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq, arguing that more troops are needed for success,” according to a recent Associated Press article.

Although this stance reflects the views of the current administration, it does not reflect the views of the American people, who are looking for a viable exit strategy.

Then there’s the fact that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is currently beating McCain in the polls, according to PollingReport.com.

Although I still maintain the position I held last Thursday, that it is still too early for the polls to be a strong indication of who will earn his or her party’s nomination, the fact that Giuliani is ahead brings up a few interesting points.

The most obvious being that the emotional factor of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks still resonate in the hearts of the American people.

The fact that Giuliani was in New York fulfilling his responsibilities as mayor when the attacks occurred is a huge plus in his favor.

McCain’s Presidential Exploratory Committee Web site, exploremccain.com, does not talk about 9/11. Instead, it focuses on his five years as a POW during the Vietnam War.

This has great potential for some interesting campaign rhetoric between Rudy “Terrorists can’t stop me” Giuliani and Sen. John “American Hero” McCain.

But, as we saw in 2004 with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., having a Purple Heart does not win an election.

Then there’s the fact that McCain lost the Republican nomination in 2000 to Bush.

Although there have been a select few presidents who won after losing previously, this still gives Giuliani the upper hand.

I’ll be honest and say I truly do like McCain and would support him over Giuliani, but I just do not see most Republicans agreeing with me.

McCain is too much of a moderate and has worked too closely with Democrats on hot-topic issues, such as immigration, to gather the absolute support of the Republican Party.

Talia Sampson is a junior news-editorial journalism and international relations major from Moorpark, Calif. Her column appears on Thursdays.