Virginia Senator Tim Kaine has a strong list of positives when it comes to consideration for the Vice President slot on a Democratic ticket. Being from Virginia, a newly minted swing state, his name can have considerable pull on the ballot since he’s already won several statewide elections.
Report from the Washington Post:
Is Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) the new Harry Truman? As a senator from Missouri, Truman led a bipartisan congressional effort overseeing World War II operations. This rankled President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration. Not wanting to draw FDR’s ire onto themselves, senior senators gave the job to the backbencher from the “Show-Me” state.
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History shows that it can be politically risky to vote against a president after the commander in chief has made a case that military action is vital to national security.
Sen. Kaine underscored this point by combining his seemingly anti-war measure with strong support for Obama’s actual military policy.
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Democrats are generally seen as the anti-war party. Then-Sen. Hillary Clinton’s vote to green light the Iraq war is likely the main reason she failed to shut down anti-war underdog Barack Obama’s campaign in 2008 before it became unstoppable. Tim Kaine is uniquely positioned politically: dovish enough for the anti-war left but covered on the right by hooking up with the hawkish McCain. Front-runner Clinton figures to run more hawkish than the dovish Democratic norm.
The political bottom line: Kaine’s the right balance for her should she win the 2016 presidential nomination. He created picture-perfect politics from perfunctory policy. Luck? No way. Then-Gov. Kaine made the Veep list in 2008. Right now, he leads the one for 2016. [Emphasis added]
The author concludes that Kaine would be the perfect Vice President for Hillary Clinton should she win the nomination. I’d be inclined to agree since Democrats will be courting Virginia given Barack Obama won the state in 2008 and 2012. However, the Clintons now have Terry McAuliffe occupying the Governor’s Mansion in Richmond meaning they already have a good inroad into the state for campaigning and fund raising. McAuliffe, if you’ll recall, was the Clinton money man back in the 1990s and their ties run deep.
That being said, Kaine is better liked than McAuliffe and would bring balance to a Clinton/Kaine ticket.
