Shermanesque statement
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A Sherman(esque) statement or Sherman speech is American political jargon for a clear and direct statement by a potential candidate for an office that they will never run for election to that office.
The term derives from the Sherman pledge, a remark made by American Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman when he was being considered as a possible Republican candidate for the presidential election of 1884. He declined, saying "If drafted, I will not run; if nominated, I will not accept; if elected, I will not serve."
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President Lyndon B. Johnson famously invoked the pledge in his March 31, 1968 national address announcing that he would not seek a second full term, saying "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president."
Since then, journalists have often pushed for potential candidates to give a Sherman pledge in lieu of a less definitive answer. In 1983, Democratic Congressman Mo Udall of Arizona, who was famous for his wit and who had campaigned for president in 1976, was asked if he would run in the 1984 election. Udall responded, "If nominated, I shall run to Mexico. If elected, I shall fight extradition."
When Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared on Meet the Press she stated that she has no intention to run for the presidency but declined to make a Sherman pledge.[1] Former Vice President Al Gore has similarly professed having no intention of running for the presidency, but has also declined to make a Sherman pledge.[2] When asked by Fox News whether he would pursue the presidency in 2008, Vice President Dick Cheney quoted Sherman's statement nearly word-for-word.
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