KAINE WILL STAY

KAINE SAYS HE WILL FINISH TERM
Bypassed for Biden, he cites 'no circumstance' under which he'd leave

By Olympia Meola
Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

With his shot at running for vice president behind him, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday that he expects to finish his term and thinks the newly minted Democratic ticket with Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. for vice president will play well in Virginia.

"It is my complete intention to be governor through January of 2010, and I see no circumstance under which that's not going to happen," said Kaine, indicating that he would not accept a Cabinet post next year in an Obama administration.

Speaking from Denver in a conference call with Virginia reporters, Kaine kept mum on how or when he was told he would not run alongside Obama, who is to accept his party's presidential nomination this week at the Democratic National Convention.

Kaine, a national co-chairman of Obama's campaign, said it's nice to have an answer to the speculation surrounding his potential vice-presidential candidacy, but he sidestepped a question on what implications the buzz could have on his relations in Richmond with Republicans.

The governor has caught flak from GOP lawmakers for his political work for Obama. It has intensified as Virginia faces a budget deficit that will force tough cost-cutting decisions.

Virginia Republicans said yesterday that Kaine had "failed the audition" and must "settle" for being governor.

"I'm sure Tim Kaine enjoyed the attention he received as Barack Obama's surrogate, attending rallies, traveling the country, going on the Sunday morning talk shows and being showered in confetti at each stop," Prince William County Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, said in a statement.

"But Tim Kaine will not be vice president this year, and he must now set aside his ambitions to focus on getting back to work as governor, particularly now, given the budget mess we find ourselves in -- likely a billion dollars in the red."

Kaine told reporters yesterday that Virginia is grappling with the results of a declining national economy and that Virginians don't mind a government scaling back when times get tough.

He segued into a push for Obama, saying fiscal responsibility needs to start in Washington.

"It does make me more engaged in the November race because we've got to have a partner in Washington that understands how to manage an economy."

Although he's not on the ticket, Kaine will continue helping Obama in Virginia, trying to secure the state's 13 electoral votes for the Democrats, who have not carried the state in 44 years.

In an interview last week with the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Obama called Kaine a good friend who will help him in Virginia -- no matter the role.

The addition to the ticket of Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, could help Obama in Virginia, where one in 10 residents are veterans. Biden might increase the ticket's appeal to military families, traditionally a source of strength for Virginia Republicans.

Obama currently is neck and neck in Virginia with presumed Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain.

"I think he's made a great pick with Joe Biden," said Kaine, citing the Delaware senator's expertise in foreign policy and the judiciary and his work to pass the Violence Against Women Act. The combination of experience between Obama and Biden, "I think will play very, very well with Virginians," Kaine said.

As for his own political horizon, Kaine said he's focused on helping Obama win in November and that he expects to complete his term as governor. He said he hasn't started to think beyond that -- and won't until spring or summer next year.

"It has been surreal in kind of a beyond-your-wildest-dreams [way] to be mentioned" for vice president, he said. "All the speculation has been obviously gratifying, but it also raises some tension and in the uncertainty of it all is a bit challenging."

His family, which also had to dodge the anticipatory flock of reporters who followed Kaine in the past few weeks, handled the attention with "a lot of grace and good humor," he said.

"My wife reminded me that I had already been elected to the highest office in the land -- her husband, and that was a good thing to be reminded of."

This weekend, Kaine will make at least one other cable TV program appearance, on "Fox News Sunday." He was interviewed on MSNBC yesterday afternoon.

When asked on that program about the scrutiny he has endured, including comments about his haircut, he gave a shout out to his barber at the William Byrd Hotel Barber Shop on West Broad Street, where a cut still costs $14, Kaine said.

On the conference call from Denver, where he's enjoying time with his wife, Anne Holton, and their children, Kaine expressed little disappointment about being passed over.

"I'm not feeling bad at all right now," he said, noting that he is looking forward to Obama's formal nomination.

"There are an awful lot of people who said we'd never get here, but here we are, and I feel absolutely great about that." Contact Olympia Meola at (804) 649-6061 or omeola@timesdispatch.com.