Today's Roanoke Times has a great bio of Tim Kaine. After reading this, I honestly wonder how anyone could fail to a) like Tim Kaine; b) understand where he's coming from and how grounded he is in his values; and c) want him to be Governor of Virginia. For instance:
[As a Christian missionary], Kaine ran a vocational school, teaching carpentry and welding to teens in the Western Hemisphere's second-poorest country. The school's founder, American missionary Jim O'Leary, became a mentor who helped Kaine find the direction he lacked at Harvard."It was about the good Samaritan principle," Kaine said. "What Jim taught me, what that year taught me, is to measure your life by the difference you make in other people's lives -- not by what you put in your own pocket."
and this:
"My dad thought he was crazy to run for local office," Anne Holton said. "Why would anybody want to do that and have people call you up at 4 in the morning to say there's a dead dog in the street?"Kaine served on the council for four years before his fellow members elected him mayor in 1998. Controversies dogged some of Kaine's fellow council members during his tenure, but he tried to work through the distractions to build consensus behind efforts to reduce crime, build new schools and improve the city's business climate.
"I tell people I haven't broken a sweat once since being mayor," Kaine said with a chuckle. "It was grueling and hard and comical -- it was like a Fellini movie at times. And yet, it was also extremely satisfying."
Of course, Jerry "Every Silver Cloud has a Dark Lining" Kilgore gets busy right away, denigrating Tim Kaine's accomplishments in Richmond (snarling about how Kaine was a "mediocre mayor" - yeah, and what were YOU, Jerry?). Luckily, Viola Baskerville understands what Kaine accomplished in Richmond: "I think what gets lost is where we were in 1994 when we all went on the council and how far we've come."
Finally, the best part of the bio for me is where Tim Kaine talks about his mixed feelings about politics. To me, that's great, because one thing I've always heard is that the LAST person you want in a position of power is someone who NEEDS it, or who believes he's ENTITLED to it. And Tim Kaine emphatically doesn't NEED to be governor, or feel ENTITLED to it:
Kaine said he had misgivings about running in 2001. If he won, he could expect to become the Democrats' instant favorite for the 2005 gubernatorial nomination. A four-year commitment could become an eight-year commitment and cost him time with his wife and children. But, with his family's support and a spark that was lit in Central America more than 20 years earlier, he pressed on."We're happy," Kaine said, flashing a satisfied smile. "We love what we're doing. I don't know many people who are happier than me. I love what I'm doing. I love the things I've chosen to do."
Good for you, Tim. Now, you just keep loving what you're doing, and we'll support you as much as possible in doing it. Anyway, look on the bright side: actually BEING governor can't possibly be as grueling as RUNNING for governor? Oh, it can? D'oh!! :)