Hillary Clinton Selects Tim Kaine As Vice Presidential Running Mate

Kaine, “Who Has Served At Nearly Every Level Of Government,” Is Clinton’s VP Pick. NPR reported July 22 that “Hillary Clinton’s campaign has announced she will tap Tim Kaine as her running mate.” Kaine is a Virginia Senator “who has served at nearly every level of government,” according to the report, including time as a mayor, governor, and senator:

After weeks of speculation, Hillary Clinton's campaign has announced she will tap Tim Kaine as her running mate.

The Virginia senator is a political veteran who has served at nearly every level of government. He's a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and has been a mayor, governor and senator. President Obama nearly picked him in 2008, but this time he got the job. He is seen as a safe choice in an anything but traditional election year. [NPR.org, 7/22/16]

Editorial Boards Praise Tim Kaine As A “Safe And Solid Choice” For Hillary Clinton’s Vice President

NY Times: Tim Kaine “Is A Safe And Solid Choice.” The New York Times editorial board wrote that “Hillary Clinton’s choice of Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia as her running mate is a safe and solid choice in an election that will almost certainly become nastier.” The Times explained that Kaine “delivers a political advantage among moderate swing-state voters,” citing “his political success as a liberal Democrat … in a state with a deeply conservative tradition.” From the July 22 editorial:

Hillary Clinton’s choice of Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia as her running mate is a safe and solid choice in an election that will almost certainly become nastier.

[...]

Politically, Mr. Kaine, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, is a moderate with a pro-trade bent. Mrs. Clinton was said to have been torn among several candidates for the job. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts or Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio were favored by Bernie Sanders’s liberal supporters, but Mrs. Clinton has already tacked somewhat to the left and they might not have been seen as balancing the ticket.

Mr. Kaine delivers a potential advantage among moderate swing-state voters who might have been harder for Mrs. Clinton to attract.

His political success as a liberal Democrat — with a perfect score from Planned Parenthood and an F rating from the National Rifle Association — in a state with a deeply conservative tradition shows an ability to retain his principles while being pragmatic enough to work with Republicans. [The New York Times, 7/22/16]

Wash. Post: Tim Kaine A “Strong Running Mate,” “Supremely Capable,” And “Fully Prepared.” The Washington Post editorial board wrote that Tim Kaine is “someone not only supremely capable of serving as her No. 2 but also fully prepared — from day one — to be president.” The Post wrote that Kaine brings “strengths in experience, temperament and worldview” to Clinton’s ticket, which “reflects well on Ms. Clinton’s judgment.” From the July 22 editorial:

ASKED HOW she would decide on a vice-presidential running mate, presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton said a few days ago that she was “afflicted with the responsibility gene” and so would value experience and preparedness over all other considerations. In choosing Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia , she has picked someone not only supremely capable of serving as her No. 2 but also fully prepared — from day one — to be president.

In contrast with the cramped choices available to Republican nominee Donald Trump, a place on whose ticket did not appeal to many GOP leaders, Ms. Clinton had a rich field to choose from, including several senators and members of the House and three Cabinet members, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Labor Secretary Thomas Perez and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro.

[...]

In every office he has held — from Richmond mayor to Virginia governor to U.S. senator — he has shown a steady hand marked by a mastery of policy details and politics. As governor, he (unlike his counterpart on the Republican ticket) did not mire the state in divisive social issues but undertook sound stewardship of the state. He was a commanding and calming presence when the horror of the Virginia Tech massacre occurred. That he is a fluent Spanish speaker, the result of his early work as a Catholic missionary in Honduras, should help Democrats with an important constituency in November and the years of governing that would follow. [The Washington Post, 7/22/16]

USA Today: “Tim Kaine Is The Right Pick For Veep.” The USA Today editorial board wrote that Kaine “is the smartest vice presidential pick Hillary Clinton could have made.” The board explained that Kaine’s “political credentials are also unmatched,” in the July 22 editorial:

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine is not Mr. Excitement, as he'd be the first to say, but he is the smartest vice presidential pick Hillary Clinton could have made.

Kaine is not going to fire up the Bernie-or-bust crowd and he is, there’s no way to avoid noticing, a middle-aged white guy (58, to be exact). But he does have the virtue of checking every other box on Clinton's wish list – starting with the confidence that, as she put it in an interview with Charlie Rose, her running mate “could literally get up one day and be the president of the United States.”

She called that her top priority. It is ours as well.

If resume is destiny, Kaine was inevitable. [USA Today, 7/22/16]

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Kaine Is A “Smart” Vice Presidential Pick. The Richmond Times-Dispatch wrote that Kaine is a “smart” pick for vice president, and asserted “Virginians will cheer Kaine as someone they know and admire.” From the July 22 editorial:

The Mother of Presidents has brought forth a new favorite son. Hillary Clinton’s selection of Sen. Tim Kaine as her running mate restores Virginia to a national prominence it once took for granted. Kaine’s name began appearing on short lists a long time ago. The pick comes as no surprise. It also is a smart one. Kaine’s amiability will balance the ticket. Virginians will express their appreciation by voting for the Democratic nominees in November. Donald Trump might as well write off the state. Virginia will rally to one of its own, but a Kaine nomination would be prudent even if he were a senator from Missouri.

[...]



Virginians will cheer Kaine as someone they know and admire. He has never lost an election. His nomination also comes as a relief to independents and disaffected Republicans; he gives them a place to go. The Old Dominion ought to be proud. [Richmond Times-Dispatch, 7/22/16]