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Kaine hardly inspires

Soric Miodrag Kommentarbild App
Miodrag Soric
Commentary
July 23, 2016

A leader's choice of a deputy can say a lot about her. By selecting Tim Kaine as her potential vice president, Hillary Clinton has put her money on his fairly middle-of-the-road pragmatism, writes DW's Miodrag Soric.

https://p.dw.com/p/1JUrL
USA Tim Kaine Nominierung zum Vizeräsidenten
Image: picture alliance/Brendan Hoffman/CNP/AdMedia

"He isn't anybody's idea of an exploding volcano of charisma," as the political magazine The American Prospect recently described the Virginia Senator Tim Kaine. And that description is accurate. Kaine is a quiet, friendly man; he is loyal and has integrity. As a former governor, he has executive-level experience. He paints himself as staunchly Catholic, and spent time with Jesuit missionaries in Honduras - yet he says he supports women's reproductive freedoms in some cases.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton chose Kaine as her running mate for two reasons: She trusts him and she wants to avoid risks. Clinton, herself a former senator, knows exactly what she is getting with the 58-year-old Kaine. Both politicians belong to the moderate wing of the Democratic Party. Kaine is a member of the Senate committees on foreign relations and the armed services. Should Clinton win the fight for the Oval Office, he would be less of a trusted adviser than someone to obediently implement her agenda.

Some commentators say Clinton chose Kaine because he speaks Spanish well and could help her attract Latino voters. Yet the polls show that that demographic already plans to vote Democrat on November 8. Kaine won't help Clinton win African-Americans over either: In presidential elections, the Democratic Party regularly takes 90 percent of the black vote over Republicans.

Soric Miodrag Kommentarbild App
DW's Miodrag Soric

Where Kaine may prove useful is in fundraising. US elections are extremely expensive. And he has very good ties to Wall Street, chambers of commerce and business leaders. Like Clinton, Kaine is a proponent of loose trade restrictions.

Letting down progressives

Former Secretary of State Clinton is hoping that her choice of running mate will help her secure the majority of votes in Virginia, which has a reputation for unpredictability - picking one party in a given election cycle and then the other in the next.

One group that has already voiced disappointment with Clinton's choice is progressives. They lean toward Democratic Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who managed to mobilize millions of voters against the former first lady in the primaries. Many of those young people are now very disillusioned. They would have marched into the general election campaign with flags flying had Sanders been the vice presidential pick. There is no chance of that happening with Kaine.

But, as important as the vice president is, running mates don't generally determine the outcomes of US presidential elections. Ultimately, 2016 comes down to the choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

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