Warner's IOP Speech a Trial Balloon for ’08 Bid?

Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner delivered what could have been a trial stump speech to a standing room only crowd at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum last night.

Sporting an orange tie and blue shirt, the rumored presidential candidate eschewed the podium, punctuating his speech about his record as a Democratic governor of a “red” state with hand gestures and appeals to three floors full of onlookers.

Warner recounted his life story before a largely friendly audience, talking about his youth at public schools in the Midwest and Connecticut, his matriculation to George Washington University (he is the first member of his family to attend college), his less-than-stellar record at Harvard Law School (when he failed to receive a job offer at the firms he worked for as a summer associate), and his early difficulties as an entrepreneur. (He ultimately co-founded a small phone company that became Nextel, and his personal net worth is estimated at nearly $200 million.)

“I stand before you as somebody who lived the American dream,” he said. “What makes me a Democrat,” according to Warner, is that “it was their programs and policies that gave me that fair shot.”

Following a lengthy New York Times Magazine profile of him in March that deemed him “the anti-Hillary,” political circles have been abuzz about the possibility that the one-term governor could emerge as a candidate in the Democratic primary.

Without declaring his hopes for the national arena outright, Warner emphasized his electability last night, pointing to his record of success in a state that has a two-to-one ratio of Republicans to Democrats.

Warner garnered 47 percent of the vote in his failed 1996 bid to unseat a popular Republican incumbent senator. “I got the silver medal in that race,” he quipped.”

He won the governorship in 2001, but Virginia term limits barred him from seeking re-election.

Warner touted his record of tax and education reform and his ability to draw jobs in the growing technology sector to rural parts of the state.

“Our country’s not going to make it if we leave behind rural America,” said Warner, who appealed to rural voters during his gubernatorial campaign with a blue grass jingle and a sponsored car in a NASCAR race. He noted during the question-and-answer period that it was important for Democrats to choose a candidate who could overcome the perception that the party could not relate to rural voters.

Warner, whose resume is short on foreign policy credentials, said stability in Iraq was paramount and emphasized that the U.S. needed to develop a structure to re-establish civil government after it invaded another country.

“A failed Iraqi state is not in America’s interest,” he said.

Audience members said after the speech they enjoyed the chance to see the potential candidate before the race heats up next year.

“It’s really interesting to see a candidate before his campaign people get their hands on him,” said Noah L. Nathan ’09, a government concentrator in Pennypacker. “I was impressed, but I think he still has a lot of trouble defining where he stands on these issues.”

Kate L. Penner ’07, a member at-large of the Harvard Democrats and a Virginia native who introduced the governor, praised Warner’s electability as a politician.

“I really think he’s a great candidate,” she said. “We need someone who’s willing to compromise. I’m really hopeful that he will declare his candidacy.”

—Staff writer Natalie I. Sherman can be reached at nsherman@fas.harvard.edu.