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Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner is coy about his future plans even with the state's leading Democrats.
In a speech to the Democratic Party of Virginia's central committee at the Fredericksburg Expo Center yesterday, Warner tantalized the crowd with a hint--just a hint--of his purported interest in running for president in 2008.
He told them to support Senate candidate Jim Webb this year, and to vote for Democratic legislative candidates next year.
"And then maybe, just maybe " Warner said, as the crowd cheered. If he has one more campaign, Warner said, it would "take back this country."
Warner has said he won't announce until after this fall's elections whether he's going to run for president.
But he has spent the months since his gubernatorial term ended traveling around the country, making speeches.
His speech yesterday morning focused more on national issues than state ones.
"People understand this president and this Congress have us headed in the wrong direction," Warner said. "We all know the problems; what we're looking for are the answers."
He said the Bush administration's actions are "creating more terrorists."
He also said the United States needs to be more competitive, although competitiveness requires knowledge, and "that would actually require an administration that believes in science."
Warner said Bush has "never trusted us enough" to make sacrifices to improve the country, such as thinking differently about energy consumption and improving health care.
"If you can't get health care fixed, no American company can compete on the international stage," Warner said.
Instead of solutions, he said, the Bush administration has offered the likes of Vice President Dick Cheney and presidential aide Karl Rove and others who, he said, practice the politics of divisiveness.
What the government needs, Warner said, is "less about left and right and red and blue and much more about policymakers who understand it's the future versus the past."
That's an echo of Warner's pro-business, bipartisan mantra during his gubernatorial term, when he proudly announced partnerships with Republicans to move policy ideas forward.
Later yesterday, Warner starred in a different event--his annual pig roast, held at his family's estate in King George County.
There, hundreds of people--from local activists to Democrats from other parts of the state--mingled on the lawn overlooking the Rappahannock River.
Guests included former attorney general candidate and state Sen. Creigh Deeds, House of Delegates Minority Leader Brian Moran, numerous officials from the administration of Gov. Tim Kaine, and people who'd worked for Warner when he was governor. In the midst of it all, a film crew taped footage for a documentary; a note tacked to a tree said the documentary is called "Crashing the States."
Webb, who's running against Republican Sen. George Allen for one of Virginia's U.S. Senate seats, was scheduled to attend.
He probably had trouble outshining the host, however; the receiving line to shake Warner's hand was longer than the lines for beer, food and the bathroom combined.
To reach CHELYEN DAVIS:
Email: cdavis@freelancestar.com
