Mark Warner

Gov. Mark Warner (D) of Virginia, the incoming chair of the National Governors Association, was Thursday's guest. Here are excerpts from his remarks:

"I think Virginia has a chance to be very competitive this fall."

"The key is not to do what ... some Democrats have done and ... dismiss anybody who views themselves as evangelical or born-again and say, well, a Democrat can't appeal to that community.... I think Democrats dismiss the Christian vote at their peril."

"One luxury you've got by having some financial independence [Warner has a fortune estimated at $200 million] is ... you don't have to fret about it. I've seen too many people in politics get midway through whatever term they are in [and] they start thinking about what they are going to do next and they don't finish the job they are hired to do."

"Every state is dealing with the fiscal overhang of the '90s. Most states haven't addressed it. I think most states are ... concerned with the changing relationship of state and federal partnerships."

"The new crop, Democrats and Republicans alike, have all inherited to one degree or another a fiscal mess ... so there has been much more of a pragmatic approach...."