AND THE NEXT SENATOR FROM THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA WILL BE... SENATOR WARNER

Unless Hillary selfishly asks him to run for VP, there will be a new Senator Warner from Virginia

But not the current Senator Warner (R). Robert Novak published today what everyone has been whispering about for months, that John Warner won't seek re-election and that wildly popular ex-Governor Mark Warner will waltz into the Senate.

Gloomy top Republicans in Virginia are privately predicting that a man named ''Warner'' will be elected to the Senate from their state next year, but add that he is likely to be a Democrat.

The state's GOP leaders not long ago were sure that 80-year-old Republican Sen. John Warner would seek a sixth term in 2008, but now they think he probably will not. That would open the door for Democratic former Gov. Mark Warner (no relation) to enter the race. Any Republican would be an underdog against the Democratic Warner.

Rep. Tom Davis is the leading prospect if John Warner doesn't run, but conservatives are seeking somebody to oppose Davis' nomination.

Extreme wingnut Eric Cantor is said to be sniffing around. The interesting thing about Davis, though, is that it is likely that if he runs, not only will the GOP lose a senate seat, they will also lose the 11th congressional district which has trended decidedly Democratic in recent years, helping decide the last gubernatorial election for Kaine and the last senate election for Webb. Bush only managed to beat Kerry with 50% of the vote and even Davis won the district with his smallest margin since first being elected in 1994, tumbling from a high of 82% in 1998 to a mere 55% last year in this moderate suburban district which has shown itself to be sick of GOP extremism. Cantor would be lucky to wind up with a third of the vote in this CD.