Tuesday evening in Denver, former Virginia Governor Mark Warner took the stage at the Democratic National Convention to provide his support for presidential candidate Barack Obama. Following a standing ovation and rhythmic chant of “Warner, Warner, Warner” from the audience, he took the podium shortly after 9:40.
Earlier this summer, Warner, who is a candidate for U.S. Senate, toured Virginia with an optimistic message of how his administration, while Governor, had worked to improve the state budget and the slowing economy. He echoed those sentiments Tuesday night for a nation under Obama and Biden.
“We need a president who understands the world today, the future we seek and the change we need,” he said in his opening remarks. “We need Barack Obama as the next President of the United States.”
For nearly 20 minutes, Warner spoke on a variety of topics beginning with his history as a Virginia politician and businessman. He also spoke on the importance of affordable health care, increasing the teacher workforce, and the need to improve military resources and alliances in order to address terrorism.
President Bush, Warner said, “… never tapped into our greatest resource – the character and resolve of the American people.” He called the lack of action by the Bush administration to reduce the dependency on foreign oil a failure that funded “the very terrorists who had just attacked us.”
Warner also spoke negatively of plans by Republican candidate John McCain, saying those plans would add $10 billion a month to military efforts in Iraq and “explode the deficit.”
Stressing the importance of a bipartisan effort in the upcoming election, he said, “It’s not about left versus right. It’s about the future versus the past.”
Improving the standard of living and opportunities available to Americans is something possible under an Obama campaign, he said.
Ending with praise of founding father Thomas Jefferson, he cited a Jefferson quote, “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” Warner said the American challenge now is to follow that sentiment into the new administration.
To read the full transcript of Warner’s speech, click here.
