Damn, this kind of pisses me off. I really liked the guy. He's a moderate democrat with tons of credibility in his state. (at one point was rated best governor in america) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061012/ap_on_el_pr/warner_president No '08 White House run for ex-Va. leader By BOB LEWIS, Associated Press Writer 2 minutes ago RICHMOND, Va. - Democrat Mark R. Warner, the former governor of Virginia, has decided not to run for president in 2008, Democratic officials said Thursday. ADVERTISEMENT Warner scheduled a late morning news conference in Richmond to make the announcement. "This wasn't the right time in his life. He would have to put everything else on the backburner in order to run for president and do it right, and he wants a real life," said Jim Margolis, a Warner adviser. Since Warner left the governor's office in January, he has busily toured key states in the Democratic nomination process, particularly New Hampshire and Iowa. His political action committee, Alexandria-based Forward Together, has raised money for Warner's exploratory effort and for other Democratic candidates in this year's midterm elections. Over the past few months, aides said he had discussions with his family while on a vacation in Europe, and more recently with senior advisers. Warner took three days off over Columbus Day, around the time his father turned 81 and the governor started to visit colleges with one of his daughters. "He said, 'Look these are fleeting moments, and I've spent 10 years either running for the Senate or being governor or doing what I'm doing this year, which is great,'" Margolis said. But, he said, Warner ultimately decided that it was not the right time for a presidential run. Said Geoff Garin, Warner's pollster: "He recognizes that this moment may never come again, but he's not saying never. I think he's just saying not now." The centrist governor who had won in a Republican-leaning state was seen as a viable Democratic alternative to perceived front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. Warner's decision still leaves a crowded field of potential Democratic candidates. Just last week, Warner traveled to Florida, a critical battleground state, to raise money and help other Democrats. He talked about how his ability to work with Republicans could appeal to Democratic presidential primary voters. "We have to really get it right and getting it right will require big enough change that it can't be a Democrat-only answer or a Republican-only answer." Warner says. "I think people ... even though they are hardcore Democratic activists, get that." During his tenure as governor, Warner's approval rating was in the mid-70s in a state that hasn't supported a Democratic presidential nominee since 1964. His lieutenant governor, Timothy M. Kaine, rode that popularity last year to replace Warner, who left because of the state's one-term limit. His centrist approach won over some Florida Democrats last week. Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Fla., told a crowd at a Tallahassee fundraiser, "I am being unequivocal about this: I am supporting Mark Warner for president." In Tampa, Democratic Party fundraiser and former state party executive director Ana Cruz said, "He's got a middle-of-the-road, common sense election message for Americans, which is what they want. We'll see after this election cycle that it's not about partisan politics, it's about who can govern the best." Margolis said Warner, 51, understood that this was probably his best chance to run for president. "He's not ruling out running for political office in the future. He will most certainly be involved in politics and the political debate," the aide said. The Democrat could be considered for a vice presidential spot. Warner was elected governor in 2001, defeating Republican Attorney General Mark Earley. The former state Democratic Party chairman, who made a fortune in the infancy of the cellular telephone industry, had never held elected public office. After a difficult start with a Republican-controlled General Assembly, Warner in 2004 brokered a compromise between Democrats, moderate senators and 17 House Republicans to pass a budget-balancing $1.4 billion tax increase. The tax increase was widely regarded as the signature initiative of his four-tear term. Warner then returned to private business.
Why would anyone want to run for any kind of office in this day and age? You'd have to be one hell of a masochist in order to put yourself through the meatgrinder.
Or have skin as thick as a rhino's, along with a personal history cleaner than a wafer-fab. We're losing a lot of good candidates because of what they have to go through. I'm sorry Warner bailed. He was intriguing. Keep D&D Civil.
the latest craze on the right is mitt romney. thoughts? theres a lot of comparisons between him and warner. well at least geographically.
My guess is that he got out because republicans are about to lose Congress. His 'being able to work with republicans' isn't as much of an advantage anymore. Neither is being a republican in democratic clothes. I say good riddance.
That was my first thought. I figured though he might just retire after this season because once you lose a starting position on the AZ Cardinals, you are done in the NFL.
