Sources: Obama Campaign Seriously Vetting Kaine

By Michael D. Shear and Shailagh Murray
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, July 28, 2008; 5:28 PM

Virginia governor Tim Kaine has told close associates that he has had "very serious" conversations with Sen. Barack Obama about joining the Democratic ticket and has provided documents to the campaign as it combs through his background, according to several sources close to Kaine.

Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden are also being seriously vetted by Obama's campaign staff, according to sources with knowledge of the process.

Obama has revealed little about which way he is leaning. And despite rising anticipation that a decision is imminent, campaign officials said an announcement is likely in mid-August, shortly before the start of the Democratic National Convention.

Although rumors have circulated about former military leaders and other non-traditional contenders, including Republicans, Obama's circle of prospects is heavy on veteran senators with foreign policy experience. Kaine and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas are the only state leaders believed to be under serious consideration, according to sources close to Obama.

Democrats who have discussed possible picks with Obama campaign officials and have knowledge of the vetting process said others being considered include Sen. Christopher Dodd (Conn.), Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and former Sen. Sam Nunn (Ga.). Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) are mentioned as longshots.

Aides to Kaine declined to comment about the possibility that Obama might pick him, referring all questions to the senator's campaign. "The governor has been pretty clear from the beginning, when Senator Obama asked him to be a national co-chair, that any conversation he has with the campaign, on any topic, are conversations that he is keeping private," said Delacey Skinner, Kaine's communications director.

But several people who have spoken to Kaine directly said he has talked about the seriousness of the possibility. All requested anonymity, citing the campaign's desire to keep the process secret. One said Kaine has stressed that there are other top candidates but described his discussions with Obama's campaign as "very serious."

Two other associates said Kaine's staff is heavily engaged in providing the background research necessary to allow Obama's campaign to search for potential political land mines. One source said Kaine chief counsel Larry Roberts is coordinating with Obama's team. Roberts cold not be reached for comment. Kaine will be in Washington today for his monthly interview on WTOP.

Since campaigning together during Kaine's 2005 gubernatorial race, he and Obama have become friends. Kaine, who like Obama has Kansas roots, has returned the favor, campaigning across the country for Obama during the primaries. In recent weeks, Kaine and his staff have been in frequent contact with Obama and the presidential campaign about strategy and operations in Virginia and elsewhere. Kaine has said he plans to attend the Democratic convention in Denver with his wife and children.

Picking Kaine would seem to satisfy many of the considerations Obama has recently laid out. During an interview with Tom Brokaw on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, the Democratic nominee said he would look for someone who would share his desire to change Washington politics. Kaine, a governor and former Richmond mayor, would bring outside-the-Beltway credentials to the campaign.

And the personal relationship the two share would seem to fit with Obama's desire for someone "with independence -- who's willing to tell me where he thinks, or she thinks, I'm wrong."

But Kaine has no foreign policy background, and as a first-term governor, he may add to voters' concerns about Obama's lack of experience. Kaine remains popular in Virginia, but has had trouble dealing with Republican state lawmakers and has no single defining achievement to point to on the campaign trail.

In 2005, the major issue Republicans took aim at was his personal opposition to the death penalty, but since becoming governor, Kaine has refused to intervene to stop several executions.

In interviews, Obama has hinted that experience would factor into his thinking as he decides who to pick as a running mate.

"I want somebody who I'm compatible with, who I can work with, who has a shared vision, who certainly complements me, in the sense that they provide a knowledge base or an area of expertise that can be useful. Because we're going to have a lot of problems and a lot of work to do," he said Sunday. "I want somebody who's going to be able to roll up their sleeves and really do some work."

Speaking to Brokaw, Obama reiterated that Clinton "would be on anybody's short list." Yet few people close to the Obama campaign believe she is a serious contender.

Biden, whose own presidential bid ended in January, could help to balance Obama's shortcomings. He is one of his party's most prominent foreign policy voices, fluent in issues from Iraq to narcotics trafficking. Elected in 1972, he also has deep ties to the party establishment, especially labor unions. With his blue collar, Scranton, Pa., roots, Biden could prove a valued surrogate to working-class Democrats in key Midwest swing states.

But the outspoken Biden also is known for the occasional verbal gaffe that might worry Obama and his long tenure in Washington could muddle Obama's call for change.

Democratic observers say the safest bet may be Bayh, a former governor from a Republican state, known for his centrist views. Obama supporters who are pressing for a Bayh pick assert that he would stir no controversy, nor would he overshadow the nominee, as an elder statesman like Biden might. Obama supporters who oppose Bayh counter that he is too conventional and too much of a Washington insider.

Reed, a military expert, is viewed as a lower profile version of Biden, who could take on a substantial national security portfolio. Like Kaine, Sebelius, Dodd and Biden, Reed also is a Roman Catholic, and his roots are humble -- his father was a school custodian. But unlike the other contenders, he seems genuinely uninterested in the job.

Reed brushed aside speculation that stirred when he accompanied Obama last week to Iraq and Afghanistan. "I am interested in serving in the United States Senate and that interest trumps any consideration of serving as a vice president," Reed told the Providence Journal. "I frankly I don't expect to be offered the position," he added.

As a decision approaches, speculation about Obama's choices has intensified.

Speaking on Fox News Sunday, the Weekly Standard's William Kristol said he believed Obama has already settled on Kaine.

"[Obama]'s in Washington on Tuesday, two days from now. He'll have a secret meeting with Tim Kaine -- this is my theory -- they'll work it all out," Kristol said. "And then on Monday, next Monday, August 4th, 11:00 a.m. in Richmond, Obama and Tim Kaine, and that will be an attractive young ticket . . . I'm way out there on a limb here."

Staff writer Tim Craig contributed to this report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...802041_pf.html