Some random Saturday thoughts...
I have been supporting Mark Warner for a while now. But I've kept a close eye on Russ Feingold. I wish Feingold could win in this country. And maybe he can. But he's definitely an electoral risk. In all likelihood, he couldn't compete in all 50 states. He would have to hit the "triple bank-shot" of Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania. There would be no room for error.
Warner, however, could put more states in play. If we're to become a majority party again, we've got compete in all 50 states by wining back middle class rural voters. Warner could beat Hillary Clinton in the primary by running as Bill Clinton-esque southern democrat campaign.
While Warner and I share different views on several subjects, at least he's not afraid to tell the truth. He doesn't have Bill Clinton's magical charisma, but he can stay on message...something Gore and Kerry had problems with. This country needs to come together and sacrifice for the common good. We need to bring back true patriotism and stop engaging in the politics of fear. If Warner can give electoral hope to Southern Democrats while balancing the budget and improving social services -- simply by giving the voters the truth in Virginia -- then maybe he can pull that off for the rest of the country. This doesn't mean that every congressional candidate needs to follow Warner's centrist lead, but I do feel that our campaign to re-take the White House needs a bi-partisan, inclusive message.
This diary post was partly inspired by this story. So maybe I'm more biased towards Warner than I should be. But overall, I like what I see.
The next question is which mid-westerner should Warner pick as his VP. I partly agree with this story that the 8 mid-western states will decide the 2008 election, therefore we should match a mid-westerner with Warner. I'm leaning towards Warner-Feingold, Warner-Clark or Warner-Vilsack.
Warner will be coming down to Texas at the end of this month for some small meetings. If he continues to impress, then I'll continue to be excited for our prospects to take back the White House in 2008. Warner has the ability to cut the bullshit and speak directly.
My darkhorse prediction for the Republicans...is Mike Huckabee. His message of "personal responsibility" is easy to understand for Iowa caucus voters who don't have a clear front-runner to support.
Your thoughts on this Saturday morning?