Warner Magic?
It might not mean much, but it's worth noting, with a couple caveats, that of all putative '08 presidentials, only VA Gov. Mark Warner (D) helped bring a big winner home on Tuesday.
In VA, Sen. George Allen (R) campaigned for GOP gov nominee Jerry Kilgore, who lost. Ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) made ads for NJ GOP Gov nominee Doug Forrester, who fell short. AZ Sen. John McCain (R) traveled to nearby CA and made ads for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's initiatives, all of which went down in defeat. NY Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) campaigned for NYC Dem mayoral candidate Freddie Ferrer, who was trounced by GOP Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
Warner, of course, made ads and campaigned frequently in VA with Dem gov nominee Tim Kaine, who won.
(Bill Clinton made ads for Sen. Jon Corzine, who won.)
Obvious caveat #1: Warner had a much easier time selling Kaine than, say, Hillary Clinton did in NYC or McCain in CA. Obvious caveat #2: Several '08ers campaigned for, and against, Manchester NH Mayor Bob Baines (D), who narrowly lost to GOPer Frank Guinta. Still, there's no doubt that Warner comes out of the '05 elections with the strongest bump and buzz. [JOHN MERCURIO]
Um, Warner is not the only '08 hopeful to have supported Tim Kaine. Wes Clark has been very helpful in drawing out the VA military vote for Tim Kaine.
General Wesley K. Clark has been a supporter of Tim Kaine for
a long time. He has travelled and campaigned with Kaine in VA
this past month to give him an endorsement (check it out:
http://securingamerica.com/node/292). Clark asked his supporters and other Democrats to donate money to Tim Kaine in an online fundraiser.
Governor-elect Kaine endorsed Wes Clark for President in 2004 and is a big fan of the General's appeal in red states.
Warner may be the flavor of the day for now, but soon he'll be out of a job and the guy is still a one-term governor with no experience with international policy, much less national security.
We deserve better in 2008.
Analysis of votes via congressional districts indicates an unusual strenth for the Democrat in Viginia Beach. Virginia Beach is home to active duty and retired military personel. It would seem that General Clark's campaigning was most benefical for Kaine.
Yes, give General Clark considerable credit as well as all of Clark's supporters in Virginia who worked hard for Kaine.
I would have to agree with gopmemekiller on this one. I don't think Warner would have the power to go against Guiliani or McCain.
Just my opinion
http://www.illmethinks.com
g
I actually live in Virginia and have to say Clark didn't seem to do a whole lot of campaigning for Kaine as compared to Warner. Overall Democrats gained seats in the state showing it wasn't a result for one candidate. Clark may have helped but Warner was the bigger draw of the two.
The retort to gopmemekiller is Warner still has governance and campaign experience Clark's campaign experience is nill and no governance. I'll take the proven official that can show accomplishments.
Mark Warner's okay, but i can think of plenty people i'd prefer. As a virginian, i wish he'd give up on this "presidential" thing and focus on next year's senate race.
I'm with dcyoung. I'm a Virginian, not only that, I'm a Virginian from Hampton Roads...you know, the MILITARY part of the state? I'm one of those guys who has a history of MILITARY in his family. I'm actually from Virginia Beach, which Ernest Hayman apparently uses as proof of Clark success. Let me tell you effect Wes Clark had on the campaign...none. Zip. Nada. Zilch. Out of all the endorsements, three can be counted as important.
3rd. Barack Obama: The man is a superstar, especially around the black community. He was able to get out black vote.
2nd. Doug Wilder: I hate this son of a bitch, but you got to admit his endorsement really helped Kaine. He really motivates the minority.
1st. Mark Warner: The MOST IMPORTANT endorsement in the campaign. He campaigned like is future in politics was on the line. Probably because it was. WARNER and KAINE won this campaign.
You talk about Wes Clark as if it meant something to military voters? The only people who knew he actually endorsed Kaine were democrats! He was on NO radio ads, NO television ads, and in NO newspaper ads. He showed up once or twice and gave a little speech. Like I said, most people had no idea he was involved in the race.
Then how did Virginia Beach go to Kaine? Allow me to explain, as I pulled survey work after the polls. Many so-called "Life-long-Republicans" voted for Tim Kaine. Why? Because they thought Jerry Kilgore was a lying slime who would say anything to get elected. Stop taking credit away from men like Tim Kaine and Mark Warner. And don't manipulate the data to give the candidate you happen to support an edge. I like Clark, supported him in 04, but he had NOTHING to do with this one.
I'm a Centrist Democrat in Virginia. You bet your ass I'm going to do whatever I have to to Aget Warner elected come 2008. And as for those who don't think Warner can go toe-to-toe with Giuliani or McCain, tell me why. Al Gore had much more foreign policy experience the GW Bush, but look who's in the White House.
Gopmemekiller, you're wrong on Kaine's endorsement. He endorsed Joe Liebermann in the 2004 race (Liebermann and Kaine's father in law Holton are old family friends).
On another note, FDR, who faced more foreign challenges than any President in the 20th Century, was a one term governor with no foreign policy experience. Don't count Warner out.
Actually FDR served two terms. However, in New York at the time, each term was only two years. So, while he had faced a re-election, he had just as much experience as Warner does. Plus, the Kaine campaign was, in essence, a re-election of Warner.
Oh yeah, thanks for pointing out the Lieberman thing, Matt. I forgot to mention it.
If Wes Clark wants to be President some day, why doesn't he try to win the Governor's mansion in Arkansas? Get some executive experience under his belt for a potential run someday.