Distant Early Warner

by: Mike Caulfield

Mon Dec 18, 2006 at 21:40:51 PM EST

"We're not trying to start anything but with the decision by Evan Bayh to not run, there was a lot of commentary on the Sunday shows wondering if Mark Warner was having second thoughts."

"And by sheer coincidence this week, one of our NH spies informed us they received a holiday card in the mail from... Mark Warner. Could Warner get coaxed back into the race next summer once the euphoria of Obama and Hillary has worn off?"

And Political Insider adds fuel to the fire:

Now that Hotline has published the rumor, my sources have released me from my pledges ... Mark Warner has, in fact, been rethinking his decision to leave the Presidential race for several weeks now. Warner's going to wait and see how this race plays out -- does Obama enter the race and can he keep momentum if he does? Does John Edwards keep his Iowa lead? Does Vilsack have any impact? Does Gore get in?

I saw Warner come through this past summer, I have to say his organization was pretty impressive. I'm not sure how much was local, but they had their stuff together, more than anybody else I've seen. If he can hold onto those people, he may be one of the few people that can afford to wait...although I can tell you from a conversation I had at Obama-rama that some of his netroots supporters have already defected to Barack...