Kaine and the Veepstakes

By Tyler Whitley
MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE
Published: July 29, 2008

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine declined today to issue a “Shermanesque” statement that he would turn down Sen. Barack Obama’s request to be his vice presidential running mate.

Appearing on the WTOP radio show in Washington, Kaine said he is “flattered” by the attention, but thinks he could better help Obama win Virginia from the Governor’s Mansion rather than as a running-mate.

But pressed by a reporter, Kaine declined to say whether he has been vetted by the Obama campaign.

“I’m just not going to talk about my conversations with the campaign,“ he said.

Asked when he would next meet with Obama, Kaine said “I don’t know.“

“The only secret meeting I have [today while in Washington] is with my 13-year-old daughter,“ he said.

Kaine said he and the Illinois Democrat talk “fairly often,“ but said they have not discussed Obama’s potential running-mates.

Kaine has become the object of recent speculation that he is on Obama’s short list of potential vice presidential candidates.

Kaine also declined to talk about the political consequences of a vice presidential candidacy. He would have to leave the governorship before his term ends, and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican, would replace him.