Posted 8:50 AM by steve

It's not as if I was going to vote for Obama in any event, but color me unimpressed with his looking at Virginia Governor Tim Kaine as a possible VP pick.

It's not that I have anything against Kaine. For a Democrat, he's not too bad, he seems to be somewhat of a nice guy and I was definitely impressed (and surprised) that he followed through with his campaign pledge that, notwithstanding his personal opposition, he would allow executions in Virginia.

The reason I am unimpressed with Obama on this is that the most important criteria for evaluating a Vice President is his ability to step in and, if need be, assume the Presidency. A Vice President doesn't have to be buddies with the President or someone the President will offload this or that responsibility, nor does a Vice President need to have some skill set that complements the President; a President has no shortage of trusted allies and colleagues to turn to and thus doesn't actually need anything from a Vice President on a day to day basis. What he does need, on behalf of the country, is a guy who won't screw up if, heaven forbid, he has to assume the Presidency.

And Tim Kaine just ain't a guy I would consider ready and able to step up should the need arise. He's been Governor for just over two years. He was Lieutenant Governor (a do-nothing position) for four years prior to that and served as Richmond's mayor (as best as I can tell) for a couple of years. That's it. He's got nothing on his resume that ought to make someone think this is the guy they want waiting in the wings.

It's actually unsurprising that Obama would consider Tim Kaine ready to step up. After all, Obama himself has a rather light resume and he considers himself qualified to sit in the Oval Office, so why wouldn't he think a lightweight such as Tim Kaine would likewise be qualified and competent?

And that's one of the things that does bother me about Obama. He's not bright enough to know that he doesn't know enough.