Warner says Big Three must plan turnaround

U.S. Sen.-elect Mark R. Warner believes there is long-term value in helping America’s auto manufacturing industry to survive its potentially devastating financial woes.

He is not opposed to finding some way for the federal government to assist General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. But he wants to first obtain assurances from the automakers that they are willing to establish turnaround plans, reduce spending and maybe even boost vehicle fuel efficiency standards.

“There’s got to be a sense of shared sacrifice,” said Warner, who was elected Nov. 4 by a margin of more than 1.14 million votes. “It’s got to be, you have a plan in place. It’s got to be, you’re going to bring your costs down. It’s got to be, when you come to Washington to ask for a handout, you don’t come in a private jet — you fly coach.”

Warner said he is reluctant to merely write a big check to the auto industry, which the companies insist they need to avoid running out of money and laying off thousands.

“Why can’t we be a little more creative?” Warner said. One idea, he said, would be to enter into a three-year purchase agreement with auto manufacturers to buy vehicles that get 60 or 80 miles per gallon.

“There was a lot of talk this week about a bridge loan,” Warner said. “Well, let’s make that bridge go somewhere.”

Warner, a Democrat, delivered his first post-election address Friday at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics’ 10th annual American Democracy Conference.

Fresh back from “new senator school” in Washington, Warner said the troubles of the car manufacturing industry are just one of numerous pressing issues facing the country. In the coming months, he said, Congress and the administration of President-elect Barack Obama must takes steps to improve the stock market, reduce dependence on foreign oil and restore America’s reputation in the world.

While these challenges are unlikely to be solved overnight, Warner said, it is important that Obama and Congress take advantage of the moment and get something done immediately.

“What this country needs — more than any of the particular issues — is a win,” Warner said.

In the nation’s history, he added, the country has risen to the occasion when it came time to defeat fascism, end the Great Depression, enact civil rights and win the technology race. The American people, he said, are willing once more to do their part. “We desperately need to not miss this window,” he said.

Turning point in primary

Warner’s keynote address Friday came amid a daylong conference featuring political strategists, journalists, elected officials and others.

The conference’s first panel discussed the turning points in the presidential race’s primary season.

Joe Trippi, Democratic strategist for Howard Dean and John Edwards, said Hillary Rodham Clinton sealed her fate in an early Democratic debate when she vigorously defended the practice of accepting campaign contributions from lobbyists. Such a defense, he said, struck the wrong note at a time when voters were hungry for change. “It locked in that she was going to be the status quo — more of the same — in the voters’ mind,” he said.

The pivotal moment for John McCain in the GOP primary was in July 2007, said McCain deputy campaign manager Christian Ferry. At the time, McCain’s campaign was in debt and most staffers had been laid off or taken a pay cut. But McCain began to run on his support of the “surge” in Iraq, giving him a salient issue that helped him prevail in the nomination fight.

Roy Romer, a past Colorado governor and former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said a key moment for Obama was his speech on race relations in Philadelphia. Obama was facing uncomfortable questions about his former pastor’s inflammatory statements about race and America. Rather than simply offering a tough rebuttal, Obama opted to speak from his heart and own experiences as a black man. “I was already supporting him, but it was reinforced that we were dealing with a unique kind of leader,” Romer said. “Here was a candidate willing to go beyond your ‘you betchas’ and address our fundamental fears.”

‘Dam broke in 2008’

In another panel, Center for Politics Director Larry J. Sabato pointed out that this was the first election in which major candidates were women and minorities. “The dam broke in 2008,” Sabato said. “What dam am I talking about? The racial and gender dam.”

U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., said he does not think Obama’s victory necessarily portends racial and gender diversity in future elections. Obama broke through, he said, because he was a remarkable and inspiring candidate. “Breakthroughs happen when candidates with a particular talent set come along,” he said. “If the right candidate comes along and runs the right kind of campaign, you get a breakthrough.”

Davis, who is black, added that Obama has the opportunity to help heal the nation’s racial divide and open the door for more black candidates, but only if Obama governs effectively and from the center. “If Obama governs well, it will dissolve those prejudices,” he said. “I think that may be the biggest payoff of all of his presidency.”

U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, a retiring Republican from Northern Virginia, said his party must adjust its focus if it wants to stop losing elections. The GOP, he said, has become too concerned with moral and cultural issues such as God, guns and abortion, at the expense of issues of greater concern to suburbanites.

“It’s killing us in the high-income suburbs,” he said. “It helps you in West Virginia, but it’s killing us in Fairfax.”

At the same time, Davis said, the Republicans may see gains in 2010 if Obama and the Democrats fail to deliver on economic improvement and other promises.

Sabato asked the panel members if they thought the press was biased in favor of Obama. Lawrence S. Eagleburger, former secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush, said the Obama campaign enjoyed far more positive media coverage than McCain. “I can only tell you my own opinion,” the Albemarle County resident said. “I think the press ought to be ashamed of themselves.”

Artur Davis, on the other hand, said he disagrees. He criticized the media for repeating blatantly untrue Internet rumors that Obama is a Muslim.

Rich Lowry, editor-in-chief of the National Review, said the media was a cheerleader for Obama during both the primary and the general election.

“The media has always wanted to consummate its relationship with Barack Obama,” he said. “First it had to get Hillary out of the room. Then it had to get John McCain out of the room.”