I have to disagree. I've posted this for another blog but cross post it here (partly because I'm too lazy to restate my argument)-

Barack Obama needs somebody with National Security gravitas as his running mate. Voters will only consider voting economic/social issues if they feel the safety/security issue is a wash. This will NEVER be the case if Obama brings on a Governor with no National Security credibility such as Kaine or Sebelius.

If Obama chooses Kaine or Sebelius, McCain will choose a strong security running mate and own that issue and ride it all the way to a November surprise.

I certainly hope Obama doesn't think a speech and a week-long trip will pull him equal with the McCain Brand on national security/foreign affairs issues. I don't care how right he thinks he's been proven to be - when people are thinking about their safety they want a track record. If it's not Biden, Reed, Hagel, Clark or the like I believe Obama will be making a grave error in judgment.

Biden on the ticket would put National Security on the back burner and allow the voter to consider other high priority issues, all of which I believe favors the Dems this election cycle.

Jonze, I could not disagree MORE. McCain will always win National Security. Unless we find someone who was a POW Vietnam Vet, we won'e even come close. And if you look through history, few Presidents had military background. rewind four years ago, Bush v Kerry- should be a cake walk for Kerry right- NO it wasn't. Because Bush learned how to speak the language. THE economy is going to be the one and only defining issue. And I get tired of people saying national security- what the hell personally can McCain do. Will he jump in front of a bomb if its heading to the u.s- the best he or anyone can do is react. And no one should react alone, that is why we are in Iraq. During the debates, when people see Obama holding his own against McCain- no competition. I don't want a president of war, I want a president who can appoint people whose focus is the war on terror, the economy, health care and others. Being a president is a job for those who focus on macro and not micro. Do you think mcCain picking a business person will help- NO, not even close.

The only way I could at all consider somebody like Kaine is if Obama named his picks (if elected) for Secretary of Defense and Director of Homeland Security at the same time as naming Kaine naming his running mate.

Problem with this is that I think Robert Gates deserves to keep his role as SecDef, so Obama couldn't really name his replacement. Chuck Hagel for Homeland Security could work though.

And even with this possibility, I don't like it enough to really get behind it.

There is nobody out there quicker, sharper and with more gravitas then (shit........brain fart.......forgot his name) brb

I'm wondering if another "mild-mannered" person on the ticket is one too many. McCain has already gone negative and perhaps having someone a little feistier on the ticket is what is needed. That's why the sharp-tongued Biden might be a good idea.

That's why I'm leaning Biden.

Regardless of who Obama picks, people will still say well why didn't he pick this person and that person? Even if Obama cloned himself and named them V.P, people will still say well they voted for FISA. And I just have to confess something, for all those people who say they don't like Obama anymore because of FISA or the faith based thing- please get over yourself. You don't even agree with the person you are with or your own parents 100% of the time- even something you did a week ago you might not do today. So, when people say we shouldn't have to choose between two evils then don't and sit out. The gap between Obama and McCain could not be harder- so if you have to think about who to vote for, I honestly don't know why you are voting. For every 1 reason to not vote for Obama, I have a 1000 to vote for him.

They're not doing the "geography" thing, they promised. You guys are staring off in the foreign policy distance while the Obama folks are looking at what this campaign is going to be about - the economy. Obama spent last week showing us he doesn't need a lieberman-style foreign policy handler like Mr. John "experience" McCain. The foreign policy training wheels are off. My money is the absolutely devastating Obama/Bloomberg ticket.

Kaine also has a bigoted anti-same sex marriage stance that should disqualify him from the ticket.

From what little I've seen of Kaine , I'm not exactly impressed. He gave the Democrat's response to a Bush state-of-the-union address a few years ago, and I remember being extremely disappointed. I was hoping to hear someone speaking truth to power, and instead my impression was that he was more like Mr. Rogers. The only thing missing was the cardigan.

I found this video in which he seemed more spirited

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkQ04Tk7dTk

...but "I had a feeling"? Why not just "I'm Hooked On A Feeling", at least it's catchy. But, I didn't come away thing that he was all that good as a public speaker.

However, I have an open mind. If someone has more on this guy that would persuade me that he is presidential material, I'm interested.

But here's a scenario: There's an international incident. President Obama, his advisers, and the joint chiefs are bunkered in the White House situation room. Who do you want as VP sitting next to the President?

If Biden wasn't so closely tied to that fucking bankruptcy bill (actually, he wrote it, IIRC) from a few years back, I'd be more favorably inclined toward him. But that bill was not the work of a Democrat. That bill was designed to protect the credit card companies, and for that reason I can't back the idea of putting Biden on the ticket.

If you take a look at the most recent electoral maps, such as:

http://www.electoral-vote.com/

or http://www.pollster.com/

key battleground states include Virgina, but they aren't the only ones - also take a look at Ohio and Florida as they have more electoral votes. Ted Strickland (OH governor) has issued a pretty strong statement that he is not a VP candidate, but are there other prominent democrats in either state that could bring voters into play?

Several months ago, TPM posted head-to-head VP matchups in critical states. Anyone know if more recent ones are out there?

Dee Dee:

In fairness, I think we progressive southerners have to strike a balance between making excuses on the social issues front and understanding that electoral politics can't devolve into a purity tests or the other side wins. As far as Kaine is concerned, he has been relatively supportive of gay rights, most notably in his opposition to the so-called "marriage amendment" that put anti-gay discrimination in the VA constitution, but he won't be advocating gay marriage any time soon. That's a shame in one sense -- I'd rather have him out there saying that, while it's not possibly by a mere statute now, he looks forward to the day when it happens (which it will of course, even in VA). But I can give him a pass on this because he certainly has given no aid or comfort to the other side, or sought in any way to exploit the issue -- he just hasn't been as courageous as perhaps we'd like.

Overall, having known him since he was on city council, I can tell you he and Obama will work well together and he would be an excellenet VP. Remember he was Lt. Gov. during the Warner administration and was a big part of getting through those programs with the Republican Senate. One thing he won't do is carry Virginia all by himself -- I think he'd be good nationally, but Obama's chances in Virginia (for better or worse) don't change much with him, in my view. Maybe the "favorite son" thing will be worth a few points, but the real deal is, can he repeat the Warner/Kaine/Webb playbook of fighting in the SW and Southside to keep down McCain's margins, and then clobbering McCain in NOVA Richmond and Hampton Roads. good fun

OK, the more I hear and read about this possible choice (Kaine) the more I'm confronted with the thought that having a first term senator and a first term governor--each with no international experience, no military experience, both attorneys with Harvard Law degrees--as Prez and VP won't fly well politically.

With the fucked up world Dubya is leaving us all, I really don't think this is the best time to run both Obama and Kaine on the same ticket. Again, I'm speaking politically. They both may be brilliant and the world would be a better place if they were in office, but seriously...we need to drive this one home, people! We don't need a "safe" VP selection. I think we need a bold selection.

Just curious...what part of anti-same sex is bigoted?

I would be happy to see Kaine on the ticket. Sorry to disappoint all you Warner-for-VP people, but he really isn't interested this go-round. There are a unique set of factors working toward his election to the Senate: 1) sharing the last name of the popular outgoing Republican incumbent; and 2) his residual popularity from his time as governor. He's a shoe-in.

Back to Kaine--he only has one year left as governor and can't be re-elected due to VA's one-term policy. I don't think his interim Republican replacement will be able do a whole lot of damage in one year as governor. The Dems then have a chance to regain the governorship in 2009. Kaine is not the most charismatic politician, granted, but he's super smart and doesn't let his own beliefs get in the way of observing the law. He's anti-death penalty (which I consider a "pro" not a "con"), but he respects Virginia's laws. Anyway, I think he'd be a terrific VP pick.

Fun fact: Kaine is married to my old camp counselor.