I pondered, if I were a politician who had recently been testing the presidential waters for a year and worked hard to gather support and funds for other Democratic candidates around the nation, why give up on any hope for a political future.
As with anything in politics, candidates have to be calculating and realistic about their chances when it comes to being elected to office. I believe that Warner did intend to run, but soon found out that Hillary Rodham Clinton would be too formidable of an opponent in the primaries to overcome.
The one thing Warner realizes is that he still holds value when it comes to cracking the Southern and Western states. He can speak to various groups around the nation and appeal to the masses. His popularity as Governor of Virginia, a Republican stronghold, proves that he is extremely marketable.
Warner knows this and you are now beginning to see why he is stepping out of the race for the time being. The sooner he announces his plan to stay out of the primary fight, the more time Hillary has to plan and defeat other presidential hopefuls. The only other electable moderate Democrat besides Warner is Evan Bayh (D-Indiana). With Warner out, this allows Hillary to move to the center. She would then be able to chew Bayh up and spit him out in the primaries, leaving the most attractive moderate, Warner, to be drafted by to be her running mate in 2008.
So, for now, Warner will continue to speak abut his family and how much he has done to help get Democrats elected, knowing that if he behaves and rolls out the red carpet for Hillary, she may very well return the favor. This means the possibility of bringing him along for the ride into White House as Vice President.
