Governor of Virginia , Mark Warner, has granted clemency to what would have been the US's one thousandth execution since 1976, when capital punishment was reinstated. Several different Governor's in America have been making odd political decisions in the last year, as attempts to establish them in the public eye, and with their base. Warner will undoubtedly run in the Presidential primaries.

There is a public perception that Governors make better Presidents, and former Senators have a pretty poor success rate when running for President. For some reason, the American Democrats seem to think that southern Democratic Governors are more palatable to both North-Eastern and Southern voters. Warner certainly fits that perception.

Another thing going in Warner's favour is that he is the Democratic Governor, while the House of Delegates and Senate are controlled by the American Republican Party. Warner has managed to get his budget proposals and legislative agenda through the Assembly largely with the co-operation of the Republicans. This is a similar situation any Democratic President will face at the federal level.

Virginia, being the state of Jefferson, is odd in the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor and Attorney-General are all prohibited from running consecutive terms. As a consequence, Mark Warner will be out of a political job in January 2006. But he can run for Governor of Virginia again in 2010 if he wants to. It is more likely a Presidential run is in the offing.

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