Mark Warner would have a problem in 2012. If Hillary is President, he’ll have to challenge her, and that won’t happen. If Fred is the incumbent, he can run, but unless Fred has really made a mess of things, he won’t win, either. He’d be effectively shut out until 2016. Of course, if Hillary lasts until then (heaven help us), she’ll be backing Fat Boy Richardson to succeed her. Of course, we’ll be a 3rd world hellhole by then.
Warner, like many dems, is figuring that a Republican will win in 2008. Not because the American people adore the Republicans, but because they won't be able to bring themselves to elect John-Boy Edwards, a woman who sounds like every man's screeching ex-wife, or a black liberal with an Arab name. The dems are also figuring that no Republican president is going to last more than one term. On that point they may be wrong, but I tend to agree. By 2012 we Republicans will have had a long run, and sometimes America just gets tired of one party and wants a change, as happened in '92. So the chances are that Warner will have an open road in 2012. And he would be a very attractive candidate for the dems.
You may not like to hear this but my honest opinion is that it will be Mitt Romney or John McCain in the White House (if we win).