PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Senator John McCain of Arizona is about to reveal the not-so-secret news that he is running for president of the United States. A stage for the official announcement at noon has been set up here overlooking the Portsmouth Naval shipyard.

In excerpts of his advanced text, Mr. McCain remarks on how quickly the campaign has begun.

“We’ve begun another campaign season earlier than many Americans prefer,’’ Mr. McCain will say in his speech. “So soon after our last contentious election, our differences are again sure to be sharpened and exaggerated. That’s the nature of free elections. But even in the heat of a campaign, we shouldn’t lose sight that much more defines us than our partisanship; much more unites us than divides us. We have common purposes and common challenges, and we live in momentous times. This election should be about big things, not small ones. Ours are not red state or blue state problems. They are national and global. Half measures and small minded politics are inadequate to the present occasion.’’

The speech goes on.....