I hope all Democrats talk like Warner--on why they are a Democrat--if they do that then --there you find your Dem vision, Dem frame, Dem ideas, Dem values, etc.  

Because there is everything to be proud of the Dem Party.  First of all it is really the more Christian Party because it closely follows Christ precept of  Whatever you do to the least of my bretheren you do to me...An it values people over corporations unlike Republicans where energy policy, drug benefits are written for corporations.

Bill Clinton and many other past Dems prove that they are really the party of fiscal responsibility and good governance.

Warner is my # 1 right now for 2008
followed by Feingold at # 2.

I like Warner because in just one term as Virginia governor, he got a lot of things done, and had a 75% approval rating in a red state when he left office.

I like Warner because he was a governor.  I prefer governors, plain and simple.  They are executives, and the presidency is an executive position.  It's no accident that governors have been successful in getting to the White House recently (since 1976).

When Warner says that the Democratic Party should be the party of the future, he hits it dead on.  We are progressive, so we should be moving forward.  As Bill Clinton noted during his presidency, the only contant is change, and we must be moving forward and adapt to these changes.  Too often over the last 5 years, the Democratic Party has seemed be stuck in neutral, or even looking backwards.  This needs to change.

Finally, Warner has had unique experiences.
As co-founder of Nextel, he has more experience firsthand with technology that virtually any other politician.  This puts him in a good position to lead the United States in this technology age, and address our competitive issues (i.e. with China and India), with science and engineering lagging in numbers and interest here at home.

Just my thoughts...

Excellent diary, by the way!

I just happened to come across an article which said he vetoed the repeal of the estate tax while Governor.  That sealed the deal.  He's my #1 pick.

In order for Mark Warner to beat the top tier candidates, he needs some more work to do, this is to my friend the gatordemocrat that replied to my draft Jon Corzine for Senate.  Jon Corzine has worked at the national level, and Mark Warner didn't. He proved that he need some work like that interview that he gave to George Stephanopolis on ABC this week.  This is quoted by Donna Brazile.  If he doesn't work on this he will not be the democratic nominee.  He also need to clarify some things, like where did he stand on the Alito nomination and filibuster?  Where does he stand on Katrina. So far he gives mostly speeches about foreign crisis like the war in Iraq. He needs to pay more attention to domestic issues.

Thanks for the post.  I am a big Mark Warner fan having lived in VA when he ran against John Warner in 1996.  He has a lot of talent and I think he has what it takes to go all the way.  The Dems have done well when they have nominated Southern Govs.

I do like Mark Warner a lot as a governor but I saw him testify before the House on his role as the co-chair of the National Governors Association (NGA) along with Gov. Huckabee and they were proposing the Gov's take on Medicaid reform.  I saw him propose the implementation of copayments for Medicaid and I wasn't too happy about that.  

Warner is my candidate right now but I want him to be more on the progressive side and less of a blue dog.

As I said before, Warner and Evan Bayh will be able to pick up OH and NV and one more crucial battleground for a 288-247 electoral victory.  Probably MO, because it is a gun state and Warner is right on guns. But he needs to bump his national security credentials in order to get there.

Until he does cross that threshold, he won't catch Hillary and get to the 291-247 electoral victory.

I meant the 288-250 electoral victory.

It's no fluke Warner left office with towering approval ratings. I've lived in Southwest Virginia for eight months and he's greatly appreciated down here because he actually came down to introduce new jobs coming to the region; he didn't forget us! When those 300 software jobs opened in Lebanon, with jobs offering twice the county's average income, there were lines around the corner of job applicants. And there were college kids saying "now I don't have to leave my hometown," as reported by the local newspaper, so when Warner said that in his NH speech, that wasn't bull. Can you imagine the support he'll get in the Rust Belt if he pushes insourcing and the promise of better paying jobs to those areas? He loved being governor and openly admitted he would miss it dearly.

His attitude is very Bill Clinton: help people help themselves; if you work hard and want to enter the workforce or college but are unable to because perhaps of money or other obsticles, we'll help out.

As for the lack of foreign policy experience, I want to remind everyone that simply being a senator doesn't mean you have any. When I think "foreign policy experience," I think veterans, Pentagon or State Department officials, diplomats, ambassadors or those who have served on foreign-related committees for many years. LBJ was a great senator and ate, slept and breathed politics but was very inexperienced in foreign issues. Warner will develop in time enough foreign policy know-how to talk about it more knowledgeably. I'd rather have Warner honestly say right now "I don't know for sure" about a certain policy question than make something up with political jargin. He's been able to cast himself, and all governors at that rate, as better decision-makers when it comes to policymaking because as the executive, you have to sign it or veto it and you own whatever decision you make and are partly responsable for its success or failure.

Also, only two presidents in the 20th Century have been elected directly from Congress (Harding in 1920 and JFK in 1960) and most governors-turned-president in the past 70 years are remembered for important diplomatic breakthroughs (FDR during WWII, Carter with the Camp David Accords, Reagan with the Soviets, Clinton with the Dayton Accords). If Warner surrounds himself with the right people in terms of foreign policy, he will be able to better delegate authority to them -- he is a master consensus-builder after all -- but I'm confident he will always make the final decision in all matters. He doesn't fear responsibility and making important decisions, he embraces it!

Warner in '08!