Update II:
As I indicated in the comments section, I thought Time Kaine did pretty well in his first joint appearance with his running mate, Hillary Clinton, in Miami today.
He even spoke Spanish very well, saying among other that he and Hillary Clinton will be “compañeros del alma” y que “somos todos Americanos.”
One reporter who was totally impressed with Kaine’s performance — and very excited — is Michael Tomasky at the Daily Beast.
Tomasky “shouts,” “Holy Crap, Tim Kaine Just Killed It In His First Speech With Clinton”
And continues, “Holy crap. He killed it.”
He then says,
I’m not trying to spin you. I’m sitting here in shock. Shock. Tim Kaine was unbelievable.
He was natural. He was smart. He was relaxed and funny, and he was serious. He was proud of himself and his wife and family but never arrogant. He was humble without ever being cloying in that way the politically humble can often be. He was genuine. He was unbelievable.
All very true, but it gets better:
After commending Kaine’s wonderful job of communicating his values — in English and Spanish — his sense of humor, his character, Tomasky says:
But the most important thing about the speech wasn’t any of these things. It was the vision for the country embedded within it. If Kaine made a convincing case Saturday afternoon that he’s a perfect companion to Clinton, he made an even stronger case that he represents the antidote to savage Trumpism and Uriah Heep-grim Pence-ism. Yes, there are problems in the country and world, obviously. But we don’t confront them by insulting people and pumping fear into people and calling our military a disaster and trying to pass severe discrimination laws. We confront them by heeding the words of Harry Truman: “America was not built on fear. It was built on courage, imagination, and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”
And he did it all without an ounce of ego. That maybe was what was most refreshing of all.
Tomasky then concludes, “Holy crap, this guy is killing it! How did we not know this?”
I think Tomasky “killed it,” too.
Read it all here.
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Update I:
President Obama has expressed his agreement with Hillary Clinton’s selection for her running mate and his support for the ticket:
“I wanted to take a moment to tell you why I’m so proud that Hillary has chosen Senator Tim Kaine to join her on the Democratic ticket this fall.
Nothing can really prepare you for this job. You come to learn that it’s about having a firm grasp of the issues, sound judgment, and the tenacity never to stop fighting to make people’s lives better.
The thing about Hillary is, she already understands all that. She does her homework, she masters the issues, and she never gives up. She gets the job done. And more than almost anyone I’ve worked with in Washington, Hillary’s the kind of person who sees a problem and says, “How can I fix this? What can I do to help?”
But this job is also about surrounding yourself with the best possible people. And there’s no more important decision you’ll make as a presidential candidate than choosing a vice president. There are basically two paths you can take. You can pick someone for purely political reasons — or you can pick someone who will be your partner in government. Someone who shares your values. Someone who will make you a better president.
That’s why I picked Joe Biden — and it’s a testament to Hillary’s character and integrity that she chose a man like Tim Kaine.
Like Hillary, Tim is an optimist. But like Hillary, he is also a progressive fighter. He’s the son of a teacher and an iron worker who’s always got working families on his mind. For nearly two decades, he specialized in representing people who had been denied fair access to housing just because of what they looked like, or because they had a disability. And when a gunman killed 32 people on the campus of Virginia Tech, Tim knew he had a responsibility as governor to offer more than thoughts and prayers to the community he mourned with — and as a gun owner, he stood up to the gun lobby on their behalf.
There aren’t a lot of elected officials in Washington whom people like even more when the cameras are off than when the cameras are on. But Tim is that kind of guy. He’s a man who’s risen to the highest levels of government but still lives in the same neighborhood he did as a city councilmember in Richmond. You just can’t find anyone with a bad thing to say about him, from the staff who’ve worked for him to the Republicans who’ve served alongside him.
Simply put: Tim is a good man. He’s a true progressive. And he will make a great vice president.
I could not be prouder to support our Democratic ticket — please join me in welcoming Tim Kaine to this team…
Thanks for everything you’ve done and will do to elect Hillary and Tim.
Barack
”
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Original Post:
Hillary Clinton has just announced she has selected Tim Kaine, a Popular Senator From Virginia, as Running Mate.
Above is a video, courtesy the New York Times, on the Senator.
Below is an e-mail from Hillary Clinton explaining why she selected Senator Kaine.
I’m thrilled to share this news: I’ve chosen Tim Kaine as my running mate.
Tim is a lifelong fighter for progressive causes and one of the most qualified vice presidential candidates in our nation’s history.
But his credentials alone aren’t why I asked him to run alongside me.
Like me, Tim grew up in the Midwest. During law school, he too took an unconventional path — he took time off and went to Honduras to work with missionaries, practicing both his faith and his Spanish.
When he returned to the states and graduated from Harvard Law, he could have done anything. But instead of going to some big corporate firm, he chose to fight housing discrimination as a civil rights lawyer in Richmond. He and his wife joined a church, built a home centered around their faith, and raised three beautiful children. Then, after 17 years of practicing law, Tim ran for city council — and won.
Tim says his experience on city council taught him everything he knows about politics. To the people in Richmond, an underfunded school wasn’t a Democratic or Republican problem. It was simply a problem that needed fixing, and his constituents were counting on him to solve it. So Tim would do it. He’d roll up his sleeves and get the job done, no matter what.
He’s a man of relentless optimism who believes no problem is unsolvable if you’re willing to put in the work. That commitment to delivering results has stayed with him throughout his decades-long career as a public servant. So I could give you a laundry list of things he went on to accomplish — as mayor of Richmond, governor of Virginia, and in the United States Senate.
But this is what’s important: Tim has never taken a job for the glory or the title. He’s the same person whether the cameras are on or off. He’s sincerely motivated by the belief that you can make a difference in people’s lives through public service.
That quality comes through in every interaction. To know Tim is to love him. When I was talking to people about this decision, I couldn’t find anyone — Democrat or Republican — who had a bad thing to say about him. From his staff over the last 20 years to his colleagues in the Senate, Tim’s beloved.
He is a genuinely nice person, but Tim is no one’s punching bag. He will fight tooth and nail for American families, and he’ll be a dogged fighter in our campaign against Donald Trump and Mike Pence.
Dorian, I want you to know that I didn’t make this decision lightly.
I’ve had the privilege of seeing two presidents and two vice presidents up close. I want a vice president who can be my partner in bringing this country together. I want someone who will be able to give me their best advice, look me in the eye, and tell me they disagree with me when they do.
But what matters most is a simple test that’s not so simple to meet: whether the person could step in at a moment’s notice and serve as president.
I have no doubt that Tim can do the job.
I want him by my side on the trail and in the White House.
Lead photo: Kaine During Filibuster: “We Have To Stop Being Bystanders To The Carnage Of Gun Violence”
