While some of us are still recovering from our post-midterm hangovers, politicians already have their sights set on the 2008 presidential election. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) countered expectations today by announcing he would not seek his party’s nomination for president, choosing instead to focus on his work in the Senate.

AP via MSNBC:

In a letter posted on his political action committee’s Web site, Feingold said he was excited that Tuesday’s elections gave Democrats control of both chambers of Congress, giving them the chance to “undo much of the damage that one-party rule has done to America.”

“We can actually advance progressive solutions to such major issues as guaranteed health care, dependence on oil and our unbalanced trade policies,” he wrote.

Feingold, 53, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he realized he would be a long-shot candidate in a bid for the presidency.

He said running as an underdog appealed to him, but not the way it would “dismantle” his work in the Senate and his personal life.

An outspoken opponent of the Iraq war, the Patriot Act and other Bush administration policies, Feingold had formed his PAC, the Progressive Patriots Fund, and visited key presidential primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire.

Link