Warner Out, Edwards Up, Hillary Ahead

The Political Wire reports that Mark Warner, former Virginia governor, is NOT running for President in 2008:

When Mark Warner's political strategist, Mudcat Saunders, told Political Wire earlier this year that he thought John Edwards was the stronger candidate in 2008 it must have made Warner pause. With Warner now officially out of the running, the main beneficiary is John Edwards.

Edwards just lost his most serious Southern opponent and is now the clear favorite in South Carolina's primary. He has the best organization in Iowa and leads in the polls. He's actively against the Iraq war and admitted his Senate vote in favor of it was a mistake. He's also aggressively courted key Democratic constituencies with his efforts to end poverty. But most important, Edwards' "under the radar" strategy is building an impressive base of supporters around the country.

I haven't really looked at the 2008 races yet (best get past 2006 first) so I don't really know enough about Warner to say whether I'm happy or sad about him dropping out of the running. Edwards seems likable enough, though I'm not sure I'm ready to endorse him either.

All this said, whenever talking about the race for the 2008 Democratic Nomination for President, it all comes back to Hillary Clinton. I have issues with Hillary Clinton. She's pandered to the right a bit too much. We don't need a 'middle of the road' Democrat, we need a strong progressive. Her high negatives among many Americans are just another strike against her.

She does, however, have the money and the staff for a strong run. If there is a herd of Democratic hopefuls and she can win primaries with small pluralities, it's to her benefit.

We'll see how this shakes out later. I'm more concerned about this November than I am about November two years removed.

Mark Warner John Edwards Hillary Clinton Democrats 2008 Election