Stand by… we all know it’s coming… But I will join my other conservative bloggers in saying that he’s got a “long row to hoe…”

From the Virginian-Pilot:

Several Republican strategists said Warner is no shoo-in for the Senate in 2008 and could face a bruising race. They said Warner had the luxury of never having held elected office when he ran for governor.

“This time, he has a record and he’ll be held to it,” said Chris LaCivita, an adviser to Davis, a possible candidate. LaCivita noted that Warner raised taxes as governor despite making repeated campaign promises that he would not.

“The free ride is over,” said Dick Leggitt, an adviser to Gilmore.

And of course there is the issue of the misplaced money… 137 million dollars worth of misplaced money. From WaPo: (my emphasis added)

The report blames “inadequate quality control” for the errors, which included a simple math reversal — addition when there should have been subtraction — and a mix-up in how the state calculates revenue from the sales tax.

“The lack of follow-up to seek an immediate resolution of these concerns, to inform the incoming governor and legislative budget committees . . . proved inappropriate considering the ultimate magnitude of the errors,” the report concludes.

The simplicity of the mistake is actually what concerns me. Attention to detail please???

We can’t afford Mark Warner…