Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, whose name has been floated as a possible ticket-mate for former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, downplayed such talk Tuesday and said he’s focused on his current job.
“I actually love being in the United States Senate,” Mr. Kaine said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “I think it’s fashionable now for senators to say that they hate being here, but I’m working on issues I care about every day, I’ve got great committees, and I got a big task ahead of me … to try to convince Congress that 15 months into a war we should actually, shockingly, have a vote and put our imprimatur on it.”
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said last month on WTOP’s “Ask the Governor” program he’s told Mrs. Clinton that either Mr. Kaine or Democratic Sen. Mark R. Warner of Virginia would be great picks for vice president.
“And so I’ve got … big jobs ahead of me,” said Mr. Kaine, who sits on the Armed Services, Foreign Relations, and Budget committees. “Terry McAuliffe is a great salesman and he has a natural bias toward those of us who come from the great commonwealth.”
Mr. Kaine, a former Virginia governor, gave President Obama a big boost with an early endorsement during the 2008 cycle, when Mr. Obama defeated Mrs. Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary. Mr. Kaine has said he’s supporting Mrs. Clinton for president in 2016.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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