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August 19, 2008

Mark Warner on "Money and Politics"

Bloomberg

PETER COOK: A week from tonight, the Democratic National Convention will be in high gear in the Mile High City of Denver, Colorado. And Democrats hope that Americans from around the country will be tuning in to hear the keynote speaker. That coveted spot belonged to Barack Obama back in 2004. And this year, the Democrats' choice is former Virginia Governor Mark Warner who is now running for the U.S. Senate in Virginia.

Polls show the former cell-phone entrepreneur and venture capitalist with a big lead over his Republican opponent, another former governor, Jim Gilmore. Warner's popularity in the state could help Barack Obama's chances of becoming the first Democrat to carry Virginia in a presidential election since 1964. The two will campaign together tomorrow in the state. Mark Warner joins me now here in the studio to talk about the convention and his own race for the U.S. Senate.

First of all, good to see you again. Welcome to Bloomberg.

MARK WARNER: Peter, nice to see you. Thank you for having me on again.

MR. COOK: Your thoughts on being tapped to be the keynote speaker.

MR. WARNER: Well, it's a little intimidating. The bar was set pretty high four years ago by Senator Obama. But you know, I think we've got a good story to tell where we actually, as a Democrat in a state that had a two-to-one Republican legislature, got things done. You know, fixed our budget shortfall; got named the best-managed state in America; the best state in the country for business by Forbes Magazine. We really spent a lot of time reinvesting in some of our rural communities. And that notion that there are actually solutions to the problems that our country faces is what I hope I'll be able to tell that story.

MR. COOK: Will you focus, again, on the history that you've had in Virginia? Specifically, the economic situation in Virginia because so much of this campaign, polling suggests the economy is still the number-one issue for Americans.

MR. WARNER: Well, I'm not going to make it all Virginia-centric; this is a national platform. But I do think we've got to get beyond the partisanship. We've got to get beyond the notion that every problem has got either a Democrat or Republican solution when in actuality we need to put American solutions first, and the notion that you can't write off all of small-town and rural America, which both political parties have for 30 years. So I hope to say there is a little bit of a Virginia example here. But more importantly, where do we go from here to get this economy fixed? Where do we go from here to actually bring this country together?

MR. COOK: Let me ask you about Virginia specifically and the talk that Barack Obama is not only competing in Virginia but has a chance to win the state again that hasn't been won by a Democrat since 1964. What does he need to do to win a state like Virginia?

MR. WARNER: Well, I think Virginia is going to be very competitive. I think over the last eight to 10 years, my governorship and then Tim Kaine's, Jim Webb, we've shown that Virginia Democrats actually know how to govern. It's less about partisanship; it's more about getting things done. I think Senator Obama can build upon that. And I'm going to be with him tomorrow in the southern tier of our state, a small community that has lost a lot of textile jobs over the last 15 years, Martinsville. And in those communities, he has to make the case that this is just not a drive-by, you know, that he really cares deeply about he concerns of small-town America. I think if Virginians, and for that matter Americans, in those communities give him the chance, I think he's got the plan; I think he's got the agenda. I actually think he will work to get this done. And I want to do all I can to help him.

MR. COOK: There are some Virginians, perhaps, who might be skeptical. They might think it's a drive-by. They know Mark Warner. He was the governor. But he was a member of the NRA. He came around and became a big NASCAR fan. Are those things Barack Obama needs to do to convince Southside Virginians to join his campaign?

MR. WARNER: Well, I think for Southside, Southwest Virginia, for Southeast Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, people want to see things get done. They know Washington is not working when it's all about partisanship. I think Obama has got the record of actually trying to work across party lines. I think that he may not show up at a NASCAR race.

But I do think the idea that you shouldn't have to leave your hometown to find a world-class job that he believes strongly in that. And his policies around education, his policies around trying to deliver Internet broadband to communities, which is terribly important in terms of the 21st-century infrastructure, his notion that all the good jobs don't need to be in a major metropolitan area, those are issues that will I think be greeted with a great deal of appreciation. And in Martinsville, and for that matter, all across small-town America.

MR. COOK: There's been so much focus on Virginia, so much focus on you, Governor Kaine, also Senator Webb as possible running mates for Senator Obama. Can you clear the air once and for all here? The fact that you're the keynote speaker, does that mean you're not a possibility as a VP choice?

MR. WARNER: I have told the Obama campaign early on that the only job I'm running for this year is Senate. And I would not want to be considered as a vice presidential candidate. I think Governor Kaine, who is still in the running -

MR. COOK: Would he be a good choice?

MR. WARNER: I think he'd be a great choice. I mean, he's someone who has got 20-plus years of public experience, both as a city councilmember, a mayor, a lieutenant governor, a governor. He's really where the rubber hits the road in terms of delivering government services. He's a man of deep faith. He served as a missionary in Honduras. He brings, I think, a life experience and a level of judgment to the position that quite honestly, I think would be a great addition to the Obama ticket.

MR. COOK: There are people who look at the situation in the news right now - Russia, Georgia, the confrontation there, the situation in Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf steeping down - say Barack Obama needs to pick someone with more national security, foreign policy experience, a Joe Biden, for example. Do you not buy that?

MR. WARNER: Well, listen, I think that at the end of the day, it's more about judgment than necessarily experience. One could argue that Dick Cheney had more foreign policy experience than anybody for the top job or second job in the last 20-odd years. I'm not sure that experience translated into good judgment. I think that Senator Obama brings a worldview that realizes that America needs to not only maintain its military supremacy but also has to engage with the rest of the world, that the challenges we face around the world, particularly from those who want to challenge us, it's a battle for hearts and minds as well.

And I think Obama's recognition of a global economy, that notion of an American foreign policy that reengages, as well as our ongoing commitment to our military presence is actually the right recipe for getting our country back on the right track.

MR. COOK: Let me ask you. Before I move to your specific race in Virginia, the wider question about the business community in support for Democrats, there's always been some tension there between some of the business community traditionally supporting Republicans. You come from the business world; at least you did before your turned to politics. Why do you think there still is that reticence today? Is there still that reticence? And more importantly, more specifically, John McCain is offering to cut corporate taxes. Do Democrats need to do the same?

GOV. WARNER: Listen, I think that what in the past too often the Democrats have been viewed as kind of rehash '70s populism - kind of a - if you're successful, hey, we're jealous; we're going to try to do redistribution. You know, redistribution of wealth is not going to get to grow the economy. You've got to have a shared prosperity. At the same time, I think Democrats, perhaps in the past, have been more about fear of the globalization of our economy. Clearly we've got to have rules in terms of trade on how we go forward, but we're in a global economy. How does America compete and win? That's the approach I took as governor. I think that's the approach that Senator Obama will bring as president.

In terms of the business community and Senator McCain's proposals, what really concerns me is, you know, a typical approach of saying let's promise you we're going to cut all of you're taxes and increase spending, and what does that leave us with? That leaves us with exploding deficits, trade imbalances, and the worst kind of tax increase that we all pay when we go to the pump or go by a good at the store. It's the declining value of the dollar. Now, the dollar has recovered a little bit over the past couple of weeks, but heck, a few weeks back, the dollar, the American dollar was worth less than the Canadian dollar. That's because the rest of the world doesn't believe we have the fortitude to get our financial house in order. And I don't believe Senator McCain's proposal is ever going to get that deficit under control.

MR. COOK: Has Barack Obama caused you any concern at all, his comments about free trade, about renegotiating NAFTA, for example?

GOV. WARNER: I believe that you've got to have rules going forward with trade, but I don't think we can reverse the trend that America has got to compete and win in the global economy. I think we can do that if we have the most educated, most innovative, most entrepreneurial workforce. I think we've got to continue to be the capital of innovation. We've got to bring down our healthcare costs, not only for the moral reasons, but if we paid $3,000 per employee, we can't compete in the global economy.

And an area that I would wish Senator Obama, and for that matter, Senator McCain would talk more about, this country needs a 21st century plan to reinvest in infrastructure: road, rail, broadband. You know, we're basically eating the seed corn of investments made 50 years ago. And if we're going to compete and win in the global economy, infrastructure has got to be a piece of that.

MR. COOK: Let me ask you a couple of specifics in a race against Jim Gilmore in Virginia: energy policy, such a big focus for the nation, for states like Virginia. Drilling off the coast - Virginia has been one of the states that has expressed interest in actually allowing drilling along the outer continental shelf. Would you support that as senator?

GOV. WARNER: I think we have got to lift the congressional moratorium on drilling and it's got to be part of the portfolio. What drives me crazy, Peter, about politics in Washington is kind of the either/or approach. It's either all alternative energy or it's all drilling. It's got to be both. It's got to be alternative energy, it's got to be drilling, it's got to be nuclear, it's got to be continuing to find ways to burn coal more cleanly, it's got to be conservation. This is a national challenge. It's also a great opportunity.

I think, for one, believe that the most jobs and the most wealth will be created over the next 25 years in the energy sector, even more than telcom and IT. And with the right policy choices around a price on carbon or a cap-and-trade system, or making sure that we raise our fuel efficiency standards - I'd love to see 100-mile-per-gallon cars being made in America in the next 24 months - we can get this right, make our country more secure, drive down the price of gas, and end up creating millions of new jobs. So you've got to have a whole portfolio approach, a comprehensive approach, not the kind of either/or positioning that seems to be so dominant in this town.

MR. COOK: You left the governor's mansion in Richmond with a 70-percent approval rating. In the four years, you also passed the biggest tax increase in modern Virginia history. Your opponent Jim Gilmore says in hindsight, that tax increase wasn't necessary and that your record is an illusion. Tell me why he's wrong.

GOV. WARNER: We came to office. We had a budget shortfall that was six-times greater than my predecessor, Mr. Gilmore, who's my opponent, said it was. It didn't only surprise me; surprised the two-to-one Republican legislature I had. Here's what we did: First we cut, we cut more spending than any governor in modern Virginia history. Then we reformed, brought things like information technology into - looked at government spending on around that area, as an enterprise was and consolidated - actually even outsourced some of our IT services. And third, we still had a structural deficit. The rating agencies were about to take away our AAA bond rating.

I could have punted this to the next guy. But my definition of a fiscal conservative is somebody who pays your bills and don't pass on your debts. So Democrats and Republicans came together with a budget and tax reform plan - lowered some taxes, raised others - net-net raised revenues, but kept that AAA bond rating, allowed us to make record investments in education.

And you know what, Peter? Virginia was named the best-managed state in America. Virginia was named the best state in the country for business by Forbes Magazine, the best state in the country for a lifetime of educational opportunity. I am more than happy to have the people of Virginia make the judgment of who left Virginia in a better place at the end of their term.

MR. COOK: Some people are suggesting your race is going to be a cakewalk in Virginia. Do you buy that?

GOV. WARNER: Listen, you can't take anything for granted in politics. I'm at this six-and-a-half days of the week. I believe this is a job-application process. I am asking the folks in Virginia to rehire me. My goal, if I got to the Senate, is a little unusual. I think I'd like to get there and see if we could actually put together a bipartisan group of senators that could become known as the radical centrists because I think too much of politics in this town is driven by the loudest voices on either end of the political spectrum. I personally hope Senator Obama wins, but whether it's Senator Obama or McCain is the next president, unless there's a strong Senate, unless there's a bipartisan group in the Senate that can actually occasionally make both sides mad, we're not going to get this country fixed.

MR. COOK: One final question, convention-related: You speak the same night as Hillary Clinton. Her name is now going to be put into nomination as well. There's going to be a roll-call vote for her. Are you worried at all that that could be a distraction, that somehow there could be some sort of disruption in the process because of that?

GOV. WARNER: I hope not. I mean, Senator Clinton ran a great campaign. She touched the lives of millions and millions of Americans. But I'm confident at the end of the day, the Democrats are going to come out of this convention united. You know, the stakes are just too high. This is one of those historical inflexion points for our nation. We don't have the luxury of another five-to-10 years of drift. And it's going to take leaders - and I think Senator Obama can do this - that will appeal to us not first as Democrats or Republicans, but first and foremost as Americans. I mean, the capacity of this country to get it right is still unmatched by any other nation in the world, but we've got to all hang in together, and I think Senator Obama can make that happen.

MR. COOK: Can Senator Obama pick his vice presidential nominee tomorrow in Virginia?

GOV. WARNER: I hope so. I mean, I think the sooner it's out - I think you know, we've got the talking heads - now spinning heads, perhaps because of all of the speculation. You know, the sooner the better but he'll make his decision in due course.

MR. COOK: All right. Governor Warner, thanks for the time. I appreciate you joining us here on Bloomberg.

GOV. WARNER: Thank you, Peter.

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