Warner Won't Make 2008 Run For President

Warner has been highly successful at fundraising, tapping into the venture capital community, in which he made his fortune, and topping most of the other Democratic hopefuls except Clinton. That ability helped propel him to the top of many lists of White House contenders in 2008.

His political action committee raised more than $9 million and distributed $7 million to candidates for federal and state office. It also paid for 67 trips to 28 states and five countries. His frequent trips to Iowa and New Hampshire were stirring curiosity among voters.

"We all believe that he was in a strong, strong position to be a very lead contender in winning the primary," said Ray Buckley, vice chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. "Often, somebody's hot one month, and then it's somebody else. For Warner to now have that buzz for 12 months was phenomenal."

But there have been difficulties as well. The New York Times Magazine put a tight, unflattering picture of Warner's face on the cover, prompting snickers. And national polls have consistently listed him as the choice of 1 or 2 percent of voters, indicating how far Warner would have to go to build recognition.

And despite Warner's belief that his brand of politics would appeal to the entire Democratic Party, pundits said his biggest challenge would be selling a moderate, bipartisan message to Democratic primary voters, especially at a time when Democrats are hungry to topple the party that will have been in power for eight years.

"I think he concluded that he couldn't win the Iowa caucuses," said one Democrat who declined to be named because he is supporting another Democratic presidential contender. "He wasn't getting any traction out there."

Geoff Garin, Warner's pollster, disputed that opinion. He said research and polling suggested that Democrats of all stripes were receptive to Warner's message.

"Every single political consideration would have had him running. There was an almost magical marriage here between the man and the moment," Garin said. "Even among those who dislike Bush the most, they want a candidate who is about hope for the future rather than just voicing their anger."

Staff writers Robert Barnes and Tim Craig and staff researchers Lucy Shackleford and Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report.