Race for President
|
7/29/2008VA Gov. Tim Kaine "very, very high" on short Obama Veep list
 Politico is reporting that Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine is "very, very high" on Barack Obama's short list of possible Vice Presidential candidates: As Senator Barack Obama turns to the choice of his running mate, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine has emerged as one of the campaign's potential finalists, sources familiar with conversations in Richmond and in Chicago said.
Kaine, an early Obama supporter whose biography nicely dovetails with the Illinois senator's, "ranks very, very high on the short list," said a source who has spoken recently to senior Obama aides about Kaine.
Kaine "is getting a critical examination," the source said.
The 50-year-old Virginia governor is among a handful of logical, and much-discussed, choices to join Obama on the campaign trail. Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn and Delaware Senator Joe Biden are among others frequently mentioned. The logic behind Kaine as the Veep for Obama is mostly electoral college stragety. Obama has been running essentially even with McCain in Virgina, a state that George W. Bush won by 8%+ twice. Since picking off states from the other party is the name of the electoral game, this possible choice follows along with the idea that McCain should pick either MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty or former MA Gov. Mitt Romney (a native of Michigan, where his father was once Governor) and deploying them almost exclusively in those states to attempt to take them away from the Democrats. The downside of picking Kaine is his resume. He's a 1st term governor. He has zero foreign policy experience. The common logic has suggested that any Obama Veep will need to have both established electoral success and foreign policy experience to help answer some of the questions about Obama's lack of both. As many GOP consultants felt about the possibility of Virgnia Sen. Jim Webb, they feel similar about the prospect of Kaine. Two young, inexperienced Democrats on the same ticket will present an opportunity for the GOP to exploit by casting the two as completely unprepared for the trials and tribulations of the Presidency. It seems to me that Kaine seems to be an unlikely choice, if only for the reason that he has too much in common with Obama. The common theory of the need for balance on the ticket would seen to rule this pick out. It's more likely that Obama will select someone as unlike him as possible.
Filed Under: Race for President
|
Related Headlines
| | McCain v. Obama, Round 3 - WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2008 | | Mainstream Media Summaries of tonight's debate - TUESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2008 | | McCain v. Obama, Round 2 - TUESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2008 | | McCain gets pwned by Paris Hilton - WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 06, 2008 | | VA Gov. Tim Kaine "very, very high" on short Obama Veep list - TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2008 | | RNC launches "BarackBook" website - TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2008 | | And now for something from those creative cats at the McCain campaign... - FRIDAY, JULY 25, 2008 | | Slogans about which we can complain... - TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2008 | | I don't think that's what they meant - MONDAY, JUNE 09, 2008 | | Clinton to do something Friday - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 04, 2008 |
|
