E. J. Dionne Jr. in the Washington Post:
As Virginia goes, so goes the Senate — and the nation?
The decision of former Virginia governor Mark Warner to run for the seat of retiring Republican Sen. John Warner is more than just bad news for the GOP. It reflects fundamental shifts in the balance of political power in the country, the growing force and volatility of suburban voters, and the fact that the old red-state-blue-state maps are becoming obsolete.
Republicans have never had much chance of recapturing the Senate in 2008, but Mark Warner’s bid and the decision of Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) to step down combined this week to make the difficult almost impossible.