I realize these diaries have become somewhat commonplace. But there's something Obama said recently that signals that he is at least considering Mark Warner for his Vice Presidential slot, in my opinion.
Obama has indicated his intention to wage a full-out fight for Virginia's 13 electoral votes, much to the thrill of the Democratic Party. The state has been turning steadily blue over the past four years which was made apparent in 2006 by Jim Webb's enormous upset of incumbent Republican U.S. Senator George Allen and by Tim Kaine's convincing victory over Jerry Kilgore for the Governorship there.
Before leaving the Governorship (by law - Virginia's Governors are term-limited), Mark Warner achieved one of the highest approval ratings of any governor in the nation.
At a campaign rally yesterday in Bristol, a town in Western Virginia where Obama and Warner appeared jointly, Obama had this to say about him:
"Mark has provided extraordinary leadership that has achieved extraordinary results. He knows that the challenges we face are not about left versus right or Democrat versus Republican they are about the past versus the future."
That to me sounds like a clear indication that Warner is near the top of Obama's short list.
Now I realize that there are many Kossacks out there who are pulling for either Jim Webb or Tim Kaine. Both men are fine choices in my view, but the latest Survey USA poll still has Webb's approval ratings below 50%. And that's not a particularly good indicator for Webb's presence on the ticket increasing Obama's chances to win Virginia. Tim Kaine is still in his first term as Governor, so I don't think he would be a sound choice.
http://www.surveyusa.com/...
In any case, it's truly thrilling to know that Obama and the Democrats are going to fight very hard in Virginia this year. Democrats sense an opportunity to win there in the Fall.
Obama was holding two events in the Southern state where Democrats sense opportunity this year given several years of the party's inroads fueled by the population-swelling, liberal-to-moderate northern swath of the state.
http://news.yahoo.com/...
On a completely unrelated sidenote, they are still counting ballots in Oregon. The latest tally puts the overall Democratic turnout at a whopping 75%! That is astounding and shatters the previous record of 72% for Democratic primary turnout from 1968.
https://secure.sos.state.or.us/...