He was fairly successful as governor in a rather hostile environment and is now running for President.

I may be a strong Republican, but I would seriously consider voting for Warner if he ever ran for president. One magazine ranked Virginia as the best governed state in the nation. He has fixed the budget, education and other programs that lacked funding. He would be a perfect fit in the White House, with the huge deficit we currently have. If the Democrats have half a brain (most don't seem to), they would nominate him for president.

Warner takes his job as Governor very seriously, and is devoted to it. This explains his popularity- he is constantly traveling the state and meeting people. This particularly impresses people because he is constitutionally barred from running for another term next year. However, Warner has really failed to accomplish anything of substance since becoming Governor, other than the huge tax increased he approved this summer. His first two years in office, he acted sensibly to fix the budget mess he inherited from his predecessor. Fiscally unsustainable tax cuts enacted under Gov. Gilmore created a huge budget deficit, and Warner worked with the legislature to close the gap between spending and revenue. However, this year he went out on the stump and told voters and the legislature that to fully balance the budget, tax reform measures had to be adopted. These included raising taxes on wealthier Virginians, increasing the sales tax by a penny, and closing corporate loophoples. In exchange, the plan presented by Warner would have continued the phase-out of the unpopular Car Tax that began under Gov. Gilmore, eliminated the marriage penalty, reduced the sales tax on food, and increased various deductions and tax benefits for working families. The plan Warner proposed in Jan. 2004 was much different than the one he approved this summer. Car tax relief was frozen rather than continued as Warner proposed, and as a result, the majority of the benefit for working families was removed from the bill. The average family will save less than $100 under the plan, some of which will go back into the system through the increased sales tax. Warner remains popular, but the effects of the tax increase have yet to be felt. Additionally, just a few weeks after the tax increase was signed by Gov. Warner, his office released figures announcing a $300 million budget SURPLUS for the current fiscal year. That number has climbed to nearly $700 million today. That is a $700 million surplus WITHOUT the estimated revenue from the $1 billion tax increase, the largest in Virginia history. Warner insists that he didn't know about the figures, but it is questionable as to why his office withheld the numbers until after the legislature adopted the tax plan, which Warner said was necessary to avoid fiscal disaster. A surplus is hardly a fiscal disaster- indeed it was the result of an improving economy and prudent budget measures that Warner took during his first two years in office. He deserves credit for that, but Virginians should continue to ask why the Governor insisted on the tax increase despite evidence pointing toward a manageable deficit or even a surplus. Now, Warner and the legislature are discussing how to spend the unexpected surplus dollars--- perhaps the best way would be to return most of it to the taxpayers of Virginia who it turns out have been the victim of an unnecessary tax increase. Overall, Warner has a mixed record as Governor of Virginia. Had he had the resolve to continue to exercise the fiscal restraint he had during his first two years in office, the tax increase would have been unnecessary. Enacting the largest tax increase in state history in the midst of an economic recovery and a budget surplus is hardly a legacy that Warner should be content with leaving behind as Governor.

Not always the most astute politician and he can be wishy washy. However, he deserves a great deal of credit for fixing VA's finances, and he has managed to work fairly well with the Republicans.