Okay. Now what?

Legislatively and politically, Governor Warner needs to reshuffle the deck -- regardless of how things go down Tuesday.

Where to start? With the staff. Bring somebody on board who can at least spell p-o-l-i-t-i-c-s. An understanding of that word would be a tremendous bonus. The road has been rocky this first year. It gets worse, much worse, from here on in.

Tuesday is a lose-lose harbinger of things to come. How so?

Consider the two sales tax referendums, the penny one in Tidewater and the half-penny in Northern Virginia. A “win” in either one of these will paint Warner as a traditional tax-and-spend Democrat. There is something a little perverse here. Not many people have to campaign desperately for a label they really want to avoid at all costs. What am I missing here?

A “loss” in these referendums and Warner is toast on the so-called ‘leadership’ issue and will be relegated -- by the pundits, by the legislature, by both parties -- to irrelevance for the next three years. It will seem like three hundred. The governor wants to avoid that at all costs, too.

If politics is a setting up of choices -- and it is, and nothing more -- these are the choices Warner has allowed up on the board. Neither one of them spell “viable campaign for the U. S. Senate” three years hence. Either way, Republicans will beat him black and blue.

Governor, no matter what happens Tuesday, starting Wednesday, you need to redefine your administration. Re-cast the Warner administration. Come with a new agenda. Put a new team of players on the field. Put new choices on the board. Maneuver yourself into a new meaning of “win,” a new look to that word, “leadership.”

Circumstances have largely boxed you in this first year. The economy tanked. The Allen and Gilmore administrations increased spending while cutting taxes -- foolishly, negligently -- and then rode out of town. Wilkins handed you a lop-sided Republican majority in the House. Bad hands, all.

Here’s the thing, though: nobody blames you to this point. Joe Electorate out here understands what a lousy hand you’ve been dealt. Joe Electorate has connected the dots thus far. Joe Electorate is forgiving where you are concerned.

But after Tuesday, Joe Electorate wants the training wheels to come off. Joe Electorate understands that after Tuesday, it’s the Warner Administration from here on in: it’s not the economy, it’s not the reckless governance of Allen and Gilmore. Joe Electorate doesn’t want to hear about one-sided Republican majorities in the legislature. Joe Electorate understands that, beginning Wednesday, it’s the Warner Show.

It is an opportunity, if you will take it. This first year is forgiven, written off -- but only if you recognize that fact and begin anew. Joe Electorate doesn’t like re-runs.

Where to start? Re-tool the staff. And re-set the agenda. After Tuesday, it’s all you from here on in. Start clean. Show us what we came to see.