NOTE: Please don't take this as my advocacy for Tim Kaine. I have great hesitation about his record as Governor of Virginia. And I certainly don't want to make this another stupid speculation diary. But I thought it should be said.
I didn't think I would catch myself saying this even a few days ago.
But I think Tim Kaine might be absolutely perfect for VP.
When he was first mentioned as a possibility, I though, BOR-RING. Another pandering LieberDem.
But he has some formidable skills and a common-guy demeanor that could bring this whole shebang home.
People feel uncomfortable about their economic situation, and they need a guy who will reassure them about Barack Obama and convince them that he will help them in our troubled economy.
Thanks to Burnt Orange Report, which you all should be reading, Texan or no:
With a mindset that Kaine is little more than a 21st century Joe Lieberman, I decided to go back and watch his speech at the Texas Democratic Party Convention in early June. After watching it, I came away thinking one predominant thing:
Tim Kaine is a perfect stump candidate for Vice President. Here's why:
He perfectly compliments the stateman-like persona of Obama's public speaking without even drawing a real comparison. He's young, exciting, and enthusiastic. He doesn't mind yelling -- but does so in a way that really fired me up. And while he's great on message, his oratory skills leave a lot to be desired. His repetitions were rather drawn out and forced, so while I liked what he was saying, I wasn't impressed with how he was speaking -- instead, I just felt fired up. Which is what you want from a stump candidate for Vice President -- especially a plain-spoken one that can go into the Appalachia country where Clinton outperformed Obama.
He speaks passionately about the importance of down-ballot races. Everyone thinks, "Kaine on the ticket helps Obama in Virginia." That may be true, but the more important piece is that Virginia on the ticket helps Obama in other conservative states. The Virginia story (Mark Warner, Kaine, and Jim Webb) is incredibly encouraging for red-staters like Texas, Montana, Idaho, etc.
As a stump candidate for Vice President, Kaine would be expected to be a huge partisan -- but he can avoid his bad history on policy issues (he'll just be repeating Obama's, and unfortunately no one ever scrutinizes the Vice Presidential candidates that much) and just talk about winning down-ballot races. Then, every speech he gives in Obama's "50-state strategy" becomes a speech where he shows how passionate he is about down-ballot races. Obama appears in swing states, Kaine in likely McCain states, but either way, an audience feels good when they leave.
That's all good, you may say. But he brings another supreme theme and asset to the table: his fluency in Spanish and his belief that Barack Obama, "walks with the people":
BOR goes on:
"Andando Con La Gente!" For about a minute (go to the 2:45 mark of the video) Kaine slips into perfect Spanish. It sounds authentic (re: not forced), he's comfortable in the language, and he weaves into it seamlessly. A stump candidate that can call up Spanish phrases at a moment's notice is impressive.
The video (see at 2:45)
He appeals to Hispanics, and his quiet Catholicism and openness in talking about issues like abortion to moderate and swing votersmake him an excellent running mate.
And if Obama wins, he will likely face Jeb Bush in 2012. And having a man who can speak Spanish by his side will be a real lifeline.
He might be the guy who finally reassures America that Barack Obama will indeed, "Anda con la gente."
Walk with the people.