 Coolidge called a small press conference together. Rather than deliver a major address, he instead handed the newspapermen a small slip of paper. Upon it, he had earlier written just a few words. Those words read, I do not choose to run for president in 1928. With that, Coolidge made his intention clear. He would do the almost unthinkable, step away from power, from the grandest office in the world, and return to life as a private citizen.