Virginia Governor Tim Kaine
On Monday, speculation over Barack Obama’s running mate reached a fever pitch when he and his top three campaign aides, David Plouffe, David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs, met with Eric Holder and Caroline Kennedy, who are in charge of Obama’s VP vetting process. The meeting, which lasted three hours, was a signal to many that Obama’s search for a running mate had entered its final phase and that a pick was imminent (although when the announcement would be made is another matter). Then, around 8:00pm that night, The Washington Post and The Politico each published articles quoting unnamed sources close to Governor Tim Kaine (D-VA), stating that Kaine was “very, very high” on Obama’s short list. Soon, all media outlets began running with the story and the top three contenders were reported to be Kaine, Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) and Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN).When the media began to report Kaine’s position on the short list, they focused less on his career and more on when he got behind Obama’s presidential bid. Many pundits pointed out that Kaine was one of the first officials not from Illinois to endorse Barack Obama at the start of his presidential campaign. They discussed his loyalty to Obama throughout the Democratic nominating contests and his being one of the most important Obama backers. They pointed out the fact that he has appeal to moderate voters and is governor of Virginia, a state that Obama hopes to win. They discussed his having been a Catholic missionary, his anti-abortion and anti-death penalty stance, and his solid approval rating.
The one thing that pundits neglected was Kaine’s record as governor of Virginia. Tim Kaine is a very good governor, but has no noteworthy accomplishments during his time in office. Were he to be picked, John McCain would be able to make Kaine’s perceived lack of experience an issue and point to Obama and Kaine while saying, “do you really want two people with such short resumes running this country?” The attacks would be devastating.
Another thing mark against Kaine is how the story of his being on the short, short list came out. People close to Kaine (both friends and aides) gave unattributed quotes to numerous media outlets and made the story the attention grabber it became. Senator Obama has repeatedly said that he and his campaign were not going to talk about the VP selection process until they had selected one. The Obama campaign had been largely successful in keeping people from talking about the process for almost two months and now Kaine’s people have brought unwanted attention to the process. This begs the question of the type of staff that Kaine would bring with him to a possible Obama administration. Would his staff and associates leak like a sieve every time they were excited over something? They certainly leaked over Kaine’s being high on the short list.
Make no mistake about it, Tim Kaine is the future of the Democratic Party. He holds immense appeal and could enjoy a long and successful political career. Unfortunately, Kaine has limited options for his next step when his term as governor ends in 2009 (Virginia law permits governors to serve only one term, but they are permitted to run again in the future). All indications are that Senator Jim Webb will run for reelection in 2012 and that former Governor Mark Warner will win the senate race this fall (he would be up for reelection in 2014). Kaine’s best hopes on a continued political career are as Obama’s VP, which is unlikely to happen for the above-mentioned reasons. However, Kaine could very well find himself playing a cabinet role in an Obama administration, adding to his record and positioning himself for future office.
Time Kaine is a major player in and is the future of the Democratic Party, but he will not be Barack Obama’s running mate.
