Bob Holden Wanted Warner for President

Former Missouri Governor Bob Holden said his first pick for President in 2008 was Mark Warner, until the former Virginia Governor announced he wasn't running late last year.

Holden tells the KY3 Political Notebook he has not made any decision on which Democratic candidate for President to endorse. He said he is trying to get most of them to speak at his public policy institute at Webster University.

"I've spoken to just about every one of them. Basically all of them have asked me for an endorsement. One just did within the last four days," Holden said.

But Holden explained that right now it is tough to lure candidates to an event that doesn't involve fundraising.

"All they are doing is raising money right now, and Missouri is not a big money state," Holden said.

Holden has attended events for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in Missouri, and said he has close ties to many of the candidates. But he really admired the possible candidacy of former Governor Warner.

"He took that state and turned it around, did a lot with technology. He reached across party lines, which is something I had trouble with in Missouri," Holden said.

"If Warner was in, he would've been my first choice," he said.

When I asked Holden about the reservations some Missouri Democrats have about Clinton as the potential nominee, he said Hillary had proven critics wrong before.

"They said the same comments about Hillary in rural parts of New York, and she proved them wrong. It's way too early to dismiss her here. Her national numbers look very good. Her challenge is that she has to be tough enough to be Commander in Chief, yet soft enough that people feel like they can relate to her," Holden said.

On His Relationship with Claire McCaskill

Holden said he believes Sen. Claire McCaskill's standing in Washington is rising because she's focusing her efforts on what she knows best.

Holden had kind words for his former rival and her tenure in Washington so far. "I had a chance to visit with her before she left for Iraq. She's done a good job as Senator. She's using her background as an Auditor to talk about fiscal management, which is a very important issue that resonates with people right now," Holden said.

I asked Holden if there were any remaining sour grapes with McCaskill.

"I never had a hatchet. Candidly, I didn't want it to happen," he said of the 2004 Democratic battle for Governor. "I wish it didn't happen, but I wasn't going to play to the whims of my party on certain issues. And I didn't."