I just had lunch with MARK WARNER!

[thecrow]

...and about 50 other people....
at a small barbeque place in Woodbridge, VA.
He was there to support Tim Kaine for the governor's office.

I walked right up to him and said:
"There are a lot of people on DEMOCRATICUNDERGROUND.COM
who are hoping you will run for President. Is that a possibility?"

And he put his arm around me and said: "Yes, maybe that will happen."

Then he spoke to us and shook hands all around and gave interviews to all the press that was there, and then sat down to eat.

I left while he was still eating.

What a wonderful day!

I'm trying to get a ride to go see john Kerry tonight.

[aquart]

1. Uh huh. Who is he?

[electropop]

4. Mark Warner is the Virginia governor.

He's term-limited out after this election. He came in and cleaned up a big Republican mess here, fiscally and otherwise. The state was not delivering services and was in financial trouble. To the average citizen, he's the guy who made our DMV offices run smoothly and in a friendly manner (when have you ever heard of a DMV running smoothly?). He has a good resume and a good brain.

[HeeBGBz]

22. Oh, I thought it was the guy from Grand Funk Railroad

My mistake.

[WI_DEM]

2. I honestly think he should run for the Senate in '06

rather than the presidency.

[Fla Dem]

18. Senators rarely get elected President. That doesn't seem to be an

especially outstanding criteria for a successful Presidential bid. Governors, on the other hand do seem to resonate better with the public. Maybe it's because they've had executive experience, or are seen as outside Washington, or don't have a whole raft of legislative votes their opponents can criticize.

[WI_DEM]

20. one term as governor doesn't seem to be a lot of experience, however.

[RubyDuby in GA]

3. Of course he's running

He spoke at GA's Jefferson Jackson dinner this year and he's been making the rounds at other similar type functions.

A little too DLC for my tastes though....

[DancingBear]

5. A LOT too DLC for mine

I live in Virginia, and I am glad he is working hard to help get Tim Kaine elected.

However, Warner politics are not what I want to see on a national scale.

[LetsGoMurphys]

13. Is he a DLC member?

If so I was unaware.

[abluelady]

15. Me too.

I wish he would run for Senate against Allen. I believe he could win that one and we need the Senate seat more than we need him running for President.

[DancingBear]

23. I wish for that as well

He could beat Allen handily - his brand of center/left but not really politics works well in the southern part of the state - and he IS one hell of a charismatic campaigner.

As President, however, it would be more of the "why vote for Republican lite" package that gets us consistently clobbered each November.

[Jara sang]

6. He owns a restaurant in Alexandria

Called "The Majestic". It's kind of pricey but the food is good.

[robbedvoter]

7. Who are those many people on DU who hope...who's he again?

And as for your tonight entertainment, are you doing a "Where are they now?" feature for your local paper?

[phylny]

27. I like Mark Warner, so I'm one of the many people. n/t

[napi21]

8. I HOPE he DOES run for Pres in 08!

I haven't seen very much of him, but I like what I've seen so far!

[JPZenger]

9. Let Him Serve in the Senate First

Let's get Warner elected to the Senate first, and then we will talk about a presidential run in 2012. He is young enough to wait. In 2008, we need a Dem. nominee with some foreign policy experience.

[Jack_Dawson]

10. Senators don't get elected

Governors do.

[Mass]

14. But we need somebody to beat Allen in 06.

It is not all about Warner's ambitions. It is about sending as much Republicans as possible home.

[oasis]

17. John F. Kennedy (eom)

[Jack_Dawson]

21. Three (3) legislators have ever been elected (eom)

[abluelady]

25. But he still would have been a governor.

It seems senators with only senate experience are not getting elected. Throughout history, many presidents were governors and senators.

[LetsGoMurphys]

12. Haven't we learned our lesson with senators n/t?

[LetsGoMurphys]

11. I would most likely vote for him in the primary if he ran n/t

[Lydia Leftcoast]

16. He's good-looking and undoubtedly a nice, friendly guy BUT...

what are his stands on the issues that really plague this country--an intelligent response to terrorism (instead of using it as the excuse for everything), health care, the Iraq War, affordable housing, and energy independence?

And given his positions, will he fight for them and for the American people, not for the interests of corporate shareholders?

Until I hear the answers to those questions, I'm underwhelmed.

We had two handsome, nice and friendly candidates who eked out few enough votes to allow the election to be stolen.

We need someone who is bold, original, and sincere enough to rouse all those non-voters out of their apathy and cynicism and create a fraud-proof landslide.

No more DLC milquetoasts, no more empty suits.

[quisp]

19. I met him in a Political Science class I took last spring...

He showed up early, stayed late. He spoke to the class (Virginia Politics 423) about all sorts of things. He was asked some controversial question about the taxes and the budget his press secretary gave him the "please don't answer that" sign. But when she left the room about half an hour later he said, "Let me answer that question about the budget now." He gave a thoughtful, reasonable answer and then got back to the original question. He is obviously very, very smart.

As far as running against Allen, I wish he would but he could very well lose that race because Allen is insanely popular in Virginia. And if he lost people on the national level would forget his successful governor-ship and just focus on his loss to Allen.

I hope he runs for president. I support him of Edwards any day of the week.

[in_cog_ni_to]

24. I think you should take a poll on "There's a lot of people on DU who want

you to run." You may be surprised. He's far from my favorite pick. Mark Warner??? :( I don't think so. We need a PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL to run.

[usregimechange]

26. Wow, you are dedicated. A DU superhero! Good job.