"With last week's Democratic National Convention over, it's time to assess how Virginia politicians fared in Denver. Here's a round-up.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine: The convention didn't start well for Kaine, who had just been told by Sen. Barack Obama, the presidential candidate, that he would not be his vice presidential running mate.

On a conference call with reporters the day after Obama selected Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), the governor sounded a bit glum.

But Kaine quickly found his stride in Denver, carving out three roles that should continue to serve him well into the future: family man, leader of the Virginia Democratic Party and Obama surrogate on the national stage.

With the distractions of the vice presidential search behind him, Kaine embraced the role of dad. His wife, Anne Holton, their three children and his parents accompanied him to Denver. In between official convention business, the Kaines went biking and hiking in the Rocky Mountains. One day, they took in a baseball game at Coors Field.

When he wasn't with the family, Kaine spent hours wooing and rallying members of the Virginia delegation. At a convention, some governors and party leaders can be hard to find because they are sitting in skyboxes, watching proceedings with donors and other party dignitaries. But Kaine could usually be found on the convention floor, sitting in the same cramped seats as the delegates.

Kaine also delivered a series of fiery speeches at various events that left little doubt he was energized for the fall campaign in support of Obama.

Just as important, Kaine seemed to have used his close relationship with Obama to bestow additional benefits on the Virginia delegation, including securing enough credentials to the convention hall to reward his supporters as well as family members and friends of rank-and-file delegates.

Kaine also became one of Obama's chief national surrogates. The governor did more than a dozen media interviews, appearing on CNN, MSNBC, "The Daily Show" and Bill Maher's program on HBO. Kaine's political staff even developed one of the most sought-after buttons in Denver. It featured an orange smiley face with a raised eyebrow, designed to make light of the governor's very active left eyebrow.

Kaine also gave a prime-time speech Aug. 28 at Invesco Field before Obama accepted the nomination in front of a crowd of 80,000.

Kaine's speech sought to link passages from the Bible to efforts by Democrats to elect Obama this year, a theme that could have enhanced the governor's reputation as a Democrat comfortable talking about religion. But few people saw Kaine's speech because it aired only on C-SPAN.

Even so, it's hard to see how Kaine didn't enhance his image. On more than one occasion, party activists or delegates from another state could be heard mentioning Kaine or remarking about one of his pro-Obama speeches.

Now, for Kaine, the party is over. Back home, he faces the uphill task of helping Obama win a state that President Bush twice carried comfortably.

Kaine also must get back to the gritty work of being governor, including cutting the budget by as much as $1 billion to close a budget shortfall. If Obama wins, however, Kaine could land a Cabinet post in Washington.

Mark R. Warner: The convention was also supposed to be a big opportunity for the former Virginia governor, who gave the keynote address Aug. 26, to shine on the national stage.

But Warner failed to capitalize on the opportunity, delivering a speech that seemed ill suited for the highly partisan convention.

Instead of serving up red meat, Warner focused on his hope of bringing more bipartisanship to Washington. And instead of talking about Obama's race against Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Warner at times seemed more interested in talking about his own accomplishments in Virginia.

Even before he delivered the speech, Warner's role became a point of controversy on the national cable news programs. Some pundits questioned whether Warner was too timid to be the keynote speaker, which only served as a distraction to Warner, who was already nervous about giving the biggest speech of his career.

When he took the podium, Warner was forced to address an audience that was restless as it waited for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) to speak later in the evening. Warner had few applause lines.

Mark Halperin of Time magazine, who graded 20 speeches at the convention, gave Warner's a D, the lowest grade he issued.

But some other pundits were more generous, and Warner's bipartisan message probably helped him in his U.S. Senate race against Republican James S. Gilmore III.

And although the speech might not have propelled Warner to widespread fame, he remains a celebrity within the Democratic Party. Delegates from Virginia and other states mob him when he walks into a room, and Warner was a hit on the Denver party circuit.

Heavily favored to defeat Gilmore, Warner is well positioned to emerge as an influential Democratic voice in Congress. He also remains a viable presidential candidate in 2012 or 2016, although he will have to toughen his rhetoric against the GOP if he wants to win a Democratic nomination.

Del. Brian J. Moran (Alexandria) and state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (Bath): Both announced Democratic candidates for governor in 2009, Moran and Deeds employed different strategies in Denver to try to jump-start their campaigns.

Moran was a constant presence at Virginia Democratic events and spent considerable time hanging around the delegation's hotel to schmooze. Moran also hosted a reception one night for the delegates, where he picked up the tab for their drinks.

Deeds was more reclusive. He spent much of his time meeting with individual delegates, national donors and labor leaders, according to Peter Jackson, his spokesman.

The benefits of Deeds's strategy won't be known until the next round of campaign finance reports. But Moran might have had the more effective strategy to round up votes for next year's election." (Tim Craig, The Washington Post, September 4, 2008)