September is a long time to wait to see how the state-wide scene is going to shake out. 

If M. Warner waits for J. Warner to announce something, and J. Warner truly waits until September, potential dem candidates for Governor (Moran and Deeds) will be in limbo through the summer--as will potential down-ticket candidates. 

That's pretty tough sledding for everyone involved--perhaps that's the Senator's point.

that he doesn't want to send signals that he's retiring to clear the GOP field for Tom Davis. This does support that argument. Otherwise Davis would have an Allen, Gilmore, or McDonnell to possibly contend with.

I don't care. That's Mark Warner's seat if he wants it.

'05 Kaine
'06 Webb
'07 McEachin
'08 Warner
'09 Moran

And someday. Chap Petersen for Governor.

=)

Warner isn't running.  He's not raising money.  His Chief of Staff is leaving.

Warner is a moderate.  He's frequently clashed with the conservatives in the Virginia GOP.  He endorses moderates over conservatives.  He's appreciates his role as a moderate deal maker in the Senate.

So what GOP elected is raising great gobs of money in Virginia right now?  "Moderate" Tom Davis (at least Tom's about least conservative as we'll get in Virginia).

Warner is trying to keep the field cleared so Tom can keep raising money and keeping other potential conservative candidates at bay.  They are working together.

Otherwise, why in the world is Tom going crazy w/fundraising? Is he getting ready to drop the bomb on Chap or a zillion HOD races?  You have to look at Warner and Davis' actions together to understand what both of them are up to. 

I think you've hit the nail on the head here.  Let's just assume John Warner's retiring and proceed from there.  Time to gear up against Tom Davis, in other words!

As I've said before, Tom D. has confirmed to me at least twice in the past six months that he intends to run for the U.S. Senate in 2008 if Warner announces his retirement. And the last time I asked him the same question and he still said yes, I also asked him if he will run again for the House if Warner announces officially that he will run again. Tom's response was that he won't make that decision until Warner makes his decision, but I really got the impression that he had already made his decision which convinces me that Warner is holding off on his retirement announcement to make it as difficult as possible for a GOP challenger. My best guess is that Warner is already lining up support for Davis, especially GOP fundraising committments.

But regardless of whether John or Tom runs in '08, I can't imagine Mark Warner saying no to a request from the Dem. party leadership to take Virginia's 2nd U.S. Senate seat. If Mark does run for U.S. Senate, there is no doubt in my mind that his name on the ballot will cause our Dem. Presidential nominee to carry Virginia by a landslide. That, by the way, go a very long way toward achieving the DEMPAC namesake objective of a an enduring Democratic Majority in Virginia AND across the nation !

  T.C.

The last time that there were two Democrats representing Virginia in the U.S. Senate was in the 1960s!  Can you name them?

And when was the last time the governor's race of Virginia went to the same party as the U.S. President?  And who won that race?

What we are facing here in the next few years is breaking some long running streaks.  We Democrats have our work cut out for us, but with the success of Warner, Kaine, and Webb so far this decade, I think it is entirely possible we'll pull the trifecta in the next few years!

Ut Prosim

I thought when he fillibustered his own bill he showed that he didn't have the integrety to be a Senator.