A recent Gallup survey asked Republicans about their choices in the 2008 presidential election and, for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the results cannot be called encouraging. The poll, conducted during June 26-29, found his “negatives” to be high–four out of 10 Republicans said McCain is not an “acceptable” GOP nominee. In terms of “acceptability” to Republicans, Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (73 percent) outpolls McCain 55 percent) by a wide margin, as does Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (68 percent). McCain has been a persistant critic of the Air Force and is line to become Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, but he may have difficulty winning the presidential nomination.
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.