Mr. Kaine's selection would require Mr. Obama to spend more time explaining his choice than this presidential candidate - or any party leader involved in a high-stakes national campaign - is inclined to do.
Mr. Kaine is a devout Catholic who cherishes the "seamless garment" pro-life arguments of the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, who as archbishop of Chicago advocated for the defense of all human life as part of a broad social and economic justice ethic. Unlike Mr. Obama, who is a supporter of capital punishment, Mr. Kaine has a long record of speaking and acting in opposition to the death penalty. He has presided over executions as governor - explaining that as a lawyer, he accepts even laws that go against his faith - but he has also vetoed five death penalty expansion bills. And in June, he commuted the death sentence of Percy Levar Walton - convicted and sentenced to death for three murders - to life in prison without parole. Testing showed that Mr. Walton had an IQ of 66 and may have lacked the cognitive skills to understand his crime and the punishment he faced, but that subtlety is unlikely to be highlighted in Republican attack ads.
In another deviation from Mr. Obama, Mr. Kaine expresses what he describes as a "faith-based opposition to abortion." The Virginian is strongly opposed to late-term abortion and is involved with Democrats for Life of America. While some Democrats like to fantasize that an Obama-Kaine ticket might attract votes from anti-abortion social conservatives, it could also alienate - or at least unsettle - feminists who backed Hillary Clinton and have yet to fully embrace Mr. Obama's candidacy.
Finally, Mr. Kaine has never served in the U.S. House or Senate, meaning that an Obama-Kaine ticket would have a combined three years of federal experience, no military record and limited long-term standing on the foreign policy front.
So why is there so much talk about the prospect of an Obama-Kaine ticket? Why are Obama aides feeding the fire? Why is Mr. Kaine stoking it? Simple: Mr. Kaine, a passionate proponent of racial justice throughout his adult life and a genuine believer in the prospect of "change we can believe in," was among the first prominent officials in the country to back Mr. Obama, and he worked hard and smart to prevent Mrs. Clinton from gaining ground in Virginia's February primary.
