[My contribution to the recent Kaine-mania, highlighted on Drudge, Politico, and the Page. Kaine 'very, very high' on VP shortlist.]
I’ve been split between Biden and Kaine as veep picks. If one thinks that Obama’s greatest vulnerability is inexperience and unreadiness, then it seems that a steady hand like Biden could be reassuring. Biden would be a VP in the (sadly victorious) Cheney model. And perhaps given the current climate (where foreign policy issues are more salient than they were in 1992) heft is what is needed. However, if one thinks that Obama’s greatest vulnerability is an inability to connect with voters, then Kaine seems much stronger as this video witnesses (the missonary background, Spanish fluency, and southern roots are big plusses as well). Kaine would thus be a VP in the model of Gore
Another plus of Kaine would be a focus on the economy. (He seems like he would be a great companion on the upcoming Ohio bus tour.) What I need to be reassured of is that he would be a capable and gaffe-free surrogate.
Biden, on the other hand, could be the major foreign policy surrogate and be highlighted as the most likely secretary of state in an Obama administration. In addition, Biden’s harshness (like calling "bullshit" on the appeasement flap) could be two steps removed from Obama if he were not the VP.
Kaine’s political style seems more congruent with Obama’s than Biden’s.
So it seems that this would be a solid Obama pick, provided Kaine is a solid surrogate. And, hopefully, as alluded to above, we could get most of the benefit from Biden if he were prominently mentioned as a likely secretary of state (to provide more weight to his comments in the media).
Some caveats, however. Supposedly, however, Kaine's term as governor has had some hiccups and no sound-bite successes. Mark Warner runs stronger in rural areas than Kaine does as well.
(Oh, and one of his eyebrows can rise signficantly higher than the other, definite fodder for comedians. This video is a shameless example of such unrepentant eyebrow action.)
Update: More seriously though, it would be very bad for Obama’s VP to be treated unseriously or as a joke. Just ask Dan Quayle.