Perhaps Virginia Gov. Mark Warner's ears were tingling when President Bush offered a toast to the nation's governors at a black-tie dinner last weekend.

"Many of our presidents have first served as governors," noted the former governor of Texas, who invoked the name of Thomas Jefferson, also a Virginian and the first governor to ascend to the US presidency.

At least a dozen other chief executives dining on beef tenderloin Sunday night probably felt that same frisson of possibility, given that four of the last five presidents were once governors. And with the 2008 presidential nominating races for both parties wide open, now is the time for dreamers. It seems wildly early, but in fact it isn't: All political eyes are already on Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, hosts of the earliest contests and states where potential contenders are already testing out themes and hiring campaign talent.

Ignore for a moment the Democrats' nominal front-runner, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, who hasn't come close to saying she's running, but has nearly total name recognition and snap-of-the fingers fundraising clout. Already, the e-word - electability - has entered the conversation among activists, and if the early energy seeps away to someone who might have easier entree in the South than Mrs. Clinton, that's where Governor Warner's name comes in.

Warner is a Democrat running a Republican-leaning Southern state, and as chairman of the National Governors Association, which is holding its winter meeting here, this is his moment in the national spotlight. Like most governors who may have 2008 dreams, he sidesteps the "are you running" question, but is all over the more generic issue of what it takes for Democrats to win in red states.

The answer is,"the same as it takes for Republicans to win in blue states: an ability to work across party lines, to break on issues of conviction with the traditional orthodoxy in your national party," says the multimillionaire former businessman. "Most Americans are much more in the middle than pundits like to say.... That states are red or blue is just not the case."

Other Republican-leaning states with Democratic governors include New Mexico and Iowa - and perhaps not coincidentally, their chief executives also appear on short lists of possible presidential contenders. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who is of Hispanic descent, has reportedly already told party leaders he will run. Tom Vilsack of Iowa, a finalist for the vice presidential slot in 2004, says he won't run for a third term as governor - which positions him to focus on possibly running for president.

"He's been focusing on an agenda in this state that would position him to run as a centrist Democrat," says Peverill Squire, a political scientist at the University of Iowa.

Governor Vilsack's agenda includes balancing his budget via spending cuts rather than tax increases, boosting economic development, and protecting K-12 education. "I think he's hoping to have things go well enough in next two years, so he leaves office with a record that doesn't haunt him on the trail," says Dr. Squire.

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