Former Gov. Mark Warner Says No to VP Slot, Worries about Negative Ads

WILLIAMSBURG, Va.—Former governor and United States Senate hopeful Mark Warner (D-Va.) said Wednesday, March 12, that he would not accept an offer from either Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) or Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to become the Democratic nominee for vice president.

In an exclusive interview with Scoop08 Ethics Correspondent Alan Kennedy-Shaffer, Warner said that "in terms of the VP, I think I effectively took myself out of that race when I decided to run for the Senate." Warner also spoke about the hazards of negative campaigning and the war in Iraq.

Alan Kennedy-Shaffer: If you were asked to be vice president, would you accept?

Mark Warner: [Laughs] So much for chit-chat.

AKS: And my second question, to give you time to think about your answer to the first. Who do you think will win, and who are you supporting, in the primary?

MW: I'm going to answer in reverse order. I decided that I would stay neutral. We've got two great candidates. I hope that I can serve with them — one will be president, the other will be a colleague in the Senate. I am concerned that if they spend their time in the next three months attacking each other, our chances of success in the fall go down.

In terms of the VP, you know, I think I effectively took myself out of that one when I decided to run for the Senate. My intention is to stay focused on the Senate race. As I said earlier, I [want] to build a bipartisan, radical centrist coalition that will allow us to make big change.

AKS: You said you're concerned that if they continue to—

MW: I have concerns. I think many Democrats have concerns. If they spend the next three months simply, you know, trying to tear each other down, it doesn't help whoever the eventual winner is. I wish I had the secret solution — I don't.

AKS: Maybe if you were VP.

MW: [Laughs] My hope is that there will be a resolution much earlier than the convention. How we'll get there, I don't know, but I kind of hope that it will be resolved — the issue is more important than the two individuals who are contesting for the job.

AKS: If you are elected to the Senate, you will be serving with at least one of the two candidates, presumably.

MW: I hope. [Laughs] Two out of the three.

AKS: So are you excited about that and the possibility to work with all these people?

MW: I think, as I mentioned earlier, we're at a critical stage in our country's history and we've got to find ways to build the coalitions that will allow us to make transformative change. And if that means a Democrat working with Republicans. People want from their government, at this point, they want results. They want to see some things get fixed. I hope that was the background that I brought as governor. We focused a lot more on getting things done. Bipartisan — it was about real results.

AKS: One more question. On the Iraq War, as an issue, I just want to get your take on that.

MW: I think that our troops have performed magnificent. They have done their job. It's time now for the Iraqi government to start stepping up. You know, I've been very frustrated recently about the fact that they have not taken the decrease in violence as a time for political reconciliation in Iraq. I've been very frustrated — the Iraqi government's got $30 million in oil revenues. They're investing in financial institutions as opposed to rebuilding their own country. They're asking the American taxpayer to pay for continued reconstruction. And I was very frustrated when we got Ahmad in Baghdad, attacking our troops—and ours were the guys that protected the Iraqi government. So you've got to start bringing our troops home. To start ratcheting up the pressure.

Now, I'm not one that believes you can get an end date. But if we start to bring our troops home and make a real commitment to get ourselves off foreign oil, I think you will see it will be two of the most positive things we could do to bring to try to bring reconciliation to Iraq and peace to the region.

AKS: Do you see any difference between Clinton and Obama in terms of bringing the troops home? Do you think one would be better than the other?

MW: I don't think it's a question of who can do it the best or who can do it the most effectively. You know, you've got to have a plan. Getting out of Iraq without a plan is as bad as going in without a plan. We've seen the results of what happened when we went in without a plan. So this needs to be thought through. My fear is that the Iraqis themselves won't step up until we show we're serious about not staying there forever.

AKS: Thanks very much.