Here’s two stories you may want to chew on. First, in a major surprise, it is being reported that former Virginia governor Mark Warner has changed course and apparently will not run for president in 2008. I don’t know why this is happening, but I am sure we will find out in the coming days. It does remove one more center-right alternative to Hillary from the field, which will benefit Evan Bayh and Joe Biden.

Secondly, the New Republic’s Ryan Lizza reports that Karl Rove was instrumental in making sure that Mark Foley ran again this year, even after Foley told friends he wanted to get out. That puts the White House right in the middle of the Foley mess, meaning that they had no problem running a sexual predator this year. And don’t insult my intelligence by sputtering that Rove may not have known about Foley, when the House GOP leadership and staff have known about Foley for over five years.