How about Newt Gingrich and Sen. Bill Frist? Like all the other 100 million plus adults eligible to run for president in 2008, my take on Newtie and Dr. Remote Diagnosis is: Forget it.
That was easy. Moving on. This will be the last of the series (Thank God! No, I'm supposed to say that, not you). Former Virginia governor Mark Warner will get Wiki-plagiarized to finish up. Mark Robert Warner was born on December 15, 1954 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He graduated from Rockville High School in Connecticut and received a bachelor's degree from George Washington University in 1977, the first in his family to graduate from college. He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1980.
Warner served as a staff member to Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd in the early 80's. He parlayed his knowledge of federal telecommunications policies as a broker of cellular phone franchise licenses, making a large fortune. As managing director of Columbia Capital Corporation he helped found or was an early investor in a number of technology companies. He co-founded Nextel, as well as Capital Cellular Corporation, and built up an estimated fortune of over $200 million. He married Lisa Collis in 1989.
Warner involved himself in public efforts related to health care, telecommunications, information technology, and education. He managed Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder's successful 1989 gubernatorial campaign, served as state chairman of the state Democratic Party and ultimately made his own bid for public office, unsuccessfully running for the Senate in 1996 against Republican Senator John Warner (no relation) in a "Warner vs. Warner" election. John Warner was unpopular in rural Virginia for opposing the 1994 Senate candidacy of controversial right-wing Republican Oliver North, and Mark Warner seized on this to perform impressively in the state's rural areas.
In 2001, Warner campaigned for Governor as a moderate Democrat after years of slowly building up a power base in rural Virginia. He defeated the Republican candidate, then-State Attorney General Mark Earley, by a margin of almost 100,000 votes. Warner's popularity paid off for the Democrats when, in 2003 and again in 2005, the party made a net gain in the Virginia House of Delegates for the first time in generations (although the House remained under Republican control.) He succeeded in passing a tax bill to improve the state's financial balance sheet. He won the support of several key Republican legislators and the Virginia Chamber of Commerce for the proposal, although the effort also led to an attack ad campaign from conservative seniors who opposed raising taxes. Warner has also made a major push to reform high school to offer more college credit or technical training options. He has encountered some criticism for being too low-key and not leading on hot button issues, but maintains he is trying to avoid unproductive posturing and partisanship.
In January 2005, after a two-year study, the Government Performance Project, in conjunction with Governing magazine and the Pew Charitable Trust, ranked the states in four management categories: money, people, infrastructure, and information. Virginia and Utah tied with an A- overall, but Virginia got A's across the board, prompting Warner to dub Virginia "the best managed state in the nation."
On abortion, Warner is pro-choice, but signed a bill to limit late-term abortions and to provide for parental consent for minors seeking an abortion. According to today's Note from ABCNews, some of the big Democratic fund raisers on the west coast didn't exactly appreciate that, with one expressing her desire to "educate him" on abortion rights. This reportedly caused him to angrily remark, "This is why America hates Democrats." He's against gay marriage, which could lead to some other "education" efforts by Democrats. Warner also supports the death penalty, and is pro-hunter. He has not made any definitive statements on the war in Iraq or the War on Terror. Maybe he should think about, you know, doing that.
Warner was not allowed to run for a second consecutive term as governor by Virginia law, and is said to be gearing up heavily for a presidential run. On December 6th, 2005, Warner held the kickoff gala of his Forward Together PAC in Virginia, where he raised over $2.5 million dollars. In attendance were Governor Tim Kaine, and former Senator John Breaux.
Looking at the Viginia 2001 campaign finance records, which are surprisingly easy to access by the way, there isn't a telecommunications giant who didn't give to Warner's campaign, as you might expect. He should get an excellent deal on phone service should he decide to run. You can throw in AOL and Phillip Morris, two important Virginia companies, as big donors as well.
Mark and Lisa have three daughters. During her husband's tenure, Lisa Collis became the first Virginia First Lady to use her maiden name. That'll go over big with the national press.
Warner, Vilsack and Bayh are the three Democrats who have been successful state executives. The rest are or were Senators, which is a hard place from which to launch a successful presidential campaign. Warner probably had the highest degree of difficulty in winning his governorship, being from the South where the GOP has had a solid majority since the Reagan years. He's more or less an outsider, though, even in his own party, as the visit to California I mentioned earlier indicates. His views are significantly to the right of Edwards, Clinton, Gore, and Kerry, and he has no experience whatsoever in international politics or the military. From what I've read, the consensus is that Warner's personality and charisma are OK, but nothing special. He seems to like to take the middle road and not stir up too much controversy, which makes it extremely difficult for his candidacy to generate any heat. He shouldn't lack for funds with the telecommunications industry strongly behind him, and he's one of the few Democrats besides Kerry who could kick in some of his own cash. He's getting a lot of ink lately, but I think it's mainly because he's the only Democrat who both doesn't have a job holding him back and seems seriously committed. Edwards and Gore have the first part, and Hillary and Bayh have the second part, but he's the only one right now with both.
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