Now THIS should be interesting!FACE THE NATION (CBS, WUSA), 10:30 a.m.: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner (D).
Obviously, Tim Kaine's victory has boosted Mark Warner's national profile - and Warner's prospects in 2008. The question is, "how much of a boost did it give him?" Interestingly, Warner is going to be in New Hampshire on November 18 for a "a roundtable on education" with Gov. Lynch in Nashua. He will then be the guest of honor at a lunch for the Democratic State Senate Caucus. Finally, this week he will formally announce his Political Action Committee -- "Forward Together" -- and unveil his new website. I would also point out that just about every domain name related to "Mark Warner" and "2008" is taken.
In other words, things are starting to ratchet up for Mark Warner. A southern, centrist, super-popular governor for President in 2008? Can we say "Bill Clinton without the baggage?" And from a bigger state, to boot?
Anyway, I'll be interested to see how Warner handles himself today, and in the future, especially on two questions he's not used to dealing with: national security and foreign policy. Will 2008 be mainly about A) Iraq and terrorism? If so, how would Warner fare in the primaries against someone like, say, General Wesley Clark or Joe Biden or Bill Richardson? If, on the other hand, the election's mainly about B) the economy, how would Warner do against someone like Hillary Clinton or John Edwards? How about one from Column A and one from Column B, a ticket of, let's say, Clark and Warner (in whatever order)? Now THAT would be interesting...
[UPDATE #1: I had a chance to listen to the C-Span replay of Gov. Warner on "Face the Nation." Overall, I thought he did an excellent job, giving an articulate and knowledgeable answer to a question on the Iraq War (although he did not directly answer the question about whether or not he would have voted to authorize the use of force, given that he didn't have "all the information.") Warner added that Democrats needed to "stop refighting how we got into the war," and instead figure out how to finish it. This is definitely a centrist stance, definitely not a position that will appeal to the Democrat Left Wing. However, Mark Warner has never been a Left Wing Democrat, so that's not surprsing at all.
No doubt, if Gov. Warner runs for the Democratic presidential nomination, his strategy is to go for the "sensible center," for voters who care about "results," "bipartisanship," "fiscal responsibility," and "pragmatism" (all things, Warner pointed out, that are missing in Washington DC right now). Just to highlight this, Warner did not object to Bob Schieffer's description of either himself or Tim Kaine as "Conservative Democrats."
On Democrats being able to win the White House and govern the country, Warner emphasized the need to compete in the South, "not just in 16 states." Warner stressed that, as Governor of Virginia, he only raised "some taxes" while he "lowered others," and only after first cutting spending. Finally, in response to a question on the importance of faith politically, Warner stated his belief that "voters are looking for people who are comfortable in their own skins," and also that "Democrats need to put forth people comfortable talking about faith and about values."
Interesting interview. Warner did well, if a "sensible centrist" and a successful Southern governor is what you're looking for. The question is, what will Democrats want come 2008? Will it be Mark Warner? Stay tuned...]
[UPDATE #2: As I suspected, Warner is getting pounded on by some readers at ultra-liberal DailyKos for his comments on Iraq. Most likely, that's good news for Mark Warner's potential candidacy. Remember that the people bashing Warner are generally in the (far) left wing of the Democratic Party, and that these are the same people who also criticize Hillary Clinton, Wesley Clark, and basically ANY Democrat who doesn't say "pull all the troops out right now, regardless of the consequences." Looks like all those potential Democratic presidential candidates have decided that immediate pullout from Iraq would be a mistake, and are not too worried about consequences from the left wing of the party. It will be fascinating to see if they're right, politically. My guess it that they are.]