NO '08 WHITE HOUSE RUN FOR EX-VIRGINIA GOVERNOR

Richmond, Va.:

Democrat Mark R. Warner, the former governor of Virginia, has decided not to run for president in 2008, Democratic officials said Thursday. Warner scheduled a late morning news conference in Richmond to make the announcement.

"This wasn't the right time in his life. He would have to put everything else on the backburner in order to run for president and do it right, and he wants a real life," said Jim Margolis, a Warner adviser.

Since Warner left the governor's office in January, he has busily toured key states in the Democratic nomination process, particularly New Hampshire and Iowa. His political action committee, Alexandria- based Forward Together, has raised money for Warner's exploratory effort and for other Democratic candidates in this year's midterm elections.

Over the past few months, aides said he had discussions with his family while on a vacation in Europe, and more recently with senior advisers. Warner took three days off over Columbus Day, around the time his father turned 81 and the governor started to visit colleges with one of his daughters. "He said, 'Look these are fleeting moments, and I've spent 10 years either running for the Senate or being governor or doing what I'm doing this year, which is great,'" Margolis said. But, he said, Warner ultimately decided that it was not the right time for a presidential run.

Call me crazy, but something doesn't feel right about this. More here.