Virginia's Mark Warner Tells Democrats To Choose Between "The Future And The Past"

Denver, CO (AHN) - Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) quest to become the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the red state of Virginia in four decades came to the forefront Tuesday night as former Gov. Mark Warner rallied Americans to make the right choice in an election "between the future and the past."

"The most important contest of our generation has begun. It's not the campaign for the presidency, not the campaign for Congress, but the race for the future," Warner said.

"It won't be won with yesterday's ideas and yesterday's divisions...We need a president who understands the world today, the future we seek and the change we need. We need Barack Obama as the next president of the United States," he added.

The former Virginia governor took up the same prime-time slot that Obama, as a state legislator, was given in the 2004 convention in Boston. He was earlier reported to be in the running as Obama's vice presidential nominee until he declared that he "will not accept" the post.

Warner criticized Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for having "no real strategy" to invest in infrastructure and wanting to spend another 10 billion for the war in Iraq. He warned Democrats of the unusual significance of their vote this election, saying, "Right now in this critical moment in our history we have one shot to get it right."

Warner, a candidate for the U.S. senate, then sounded a note of bipartisanship, drawing a few boos from the crowd. "We need leaders who see our common ground as sacred ground, who will appeal to us not as Republicans or Democrats but first and foremost as Americans... This election is not about liberal versus conservative, it's about the future versus the past," he said.

His keynote marks the second night of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Former President Bill Clinton will be speaking on Wednesday just before Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), as the vice presidential nominee, makes his address.