Warner's Triumphant Legacy No Easy Feat

Pundits agree that it was, in part, Warner's efforts and his 75 percent approval rating that lifted Kaine to victory Nov. 8. If Kaine had lost, Warner's aides had all the talking points ready to argue that a Kaine loss enhanced the uniqueness of Warner's 2001 victory. But the Kaine win gave Warner the chance to sell his "winner" status nationwide without an asterisk.

His support for Kaine and the party erased early gripes by Democrats that he was too bipartisan. By the end, he raised more than $8 million for his party's candidates.

In a recent speech to Democrats in South Carolina, Warner noted, wistfully, that "in 38 days, I become a former governor."

He added, to laughs, that "Virginia is the only state in the nation where the official title . . . is not 'the Honorable.' It's 'His Excellency, the Governor of Virginia.' "

Then he alluded to his inability to let go just yet. "There are days, I can tell you," he said, "when being called 'His Excellency' is the high point of the day."

The Next Campaign

The meeting in spring 2005 took place at the Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner.

Warner's top advisers were all there, waiting for the boss to arrive. Nicholas D. Perrins, Warner's alter ego, passed out three-ring binders to the participants, one of whom noticed that one tab said "National Politics." A few eyebrows went up.

"Yeah," Perrins said. "I'll have to take these back when the meeting is over."

Back then, Warner was dodging questions about whether he would challenge Allen for the Senate in 2006 or whether he might run for president. His answer: "I'm focused on doing the best job in Virginia."

Since then, the pretence of ignoring the future has been dropped. Warner has given speeches in Washington and been the guest of honor at power breakfasts. He served as chairman of the National Governors Association, leading efforts to make changes in Medicaid and high school education.

"We lit a fuse which got 40-plus states doing stuff that we started in Virginia," Warner said. "High school reform was on nobody's agenda three years ago."

Warner has also gained national attention by agreeing to submit old criminal cases to new DNA testing. Last week, he announced that testing is underway in the case of a man executed in 1992. And in December, he ordered large-scale testing after preliminary examination exonerated two convicts.

Although he still insists that he has made no decision about running for president, Warner is doing everything he can to be ready for that announcement when the time is right.

He declared in August that he will not challenge Allen for his Senate seat. In February, Warner will head to New Hampshire to headline the Democratic Party's annual 100 Club dinner. It will be his second political trip to the Granite State.

"He's proven winnability and coattails," said former senator John Breaux of Louisiana, a Democrat and Warner supporter. "He's made Virginia work in a bipartisan way."

But Warner is starting at 1 percent in the national polls, with far less money than most contenders, and with a political résumé that is admittedly thin -- one term in office, no foreign-policy experience, few positions on national issues.

Like many of the other hopefuls, he is also way behind Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in fundraising. She could have $30 million to start a presidential bid.

"He's an Internet stock right now," said Chuck Todd, editor-in-chief of the Hotline, a political newsletter. "A lot of potential, but we're not sure whether there's a good business model there or not."