Far more significant than the exit of the undistinguished Larry Craig (R-ID) is the announcement by John Warner (R-VA) that he will not seek another term in the Senate in 2008. Warner, who is a terrific advertisement for old age (he's a VERY healthy looking 80) made headlines last week when he, albeit belatedly, told the White House publicly that the time has come to start pulling troops out of Iraq. Warner is also one of the more-or-less true conservatives, as distinguished from the reactionaries of Deadeye Dick's ilk, who has maintained at least a semblance of civility in Washington during the Bush administration.
Warner's departure puts the Virginia senate seat even more in play than it would have been had he run. The Old Dominion has been trending Democratic in recent years, as a swelling Hispanic population and a shift of gravity toward the Washington suburbs have reduced--and even eliminated--the state's traditional conservative tilt. Virginia has elected two consecutive Democratic governors and last year Jim Webb knocked George "Macacawitz" Allen out of the Senate. (We New Englanders might say that Virginia is the southern New Hampshire). Will Mark Warner, the former Democratic governor and no relation to the retiring senator, declare for the Senate? He was overwhelmingly popular as governor; he could be a very strong candidate next year. (For one thing, voters could keep their "Warner for Senate" bumper stickers). Stay tuned.
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I had hoped that Mark Warner would run for president as a former governer. He seems to be a good man and I agree that he would be an asset to the democratic cause in the Senate.
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