Kaine won’t cool VP speculation

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine declined to withdraw his name from speculation as Sen. Barack Obama's running mate.

Asked on a Washington radio show Tuesday whether he would issue a "Shermanesque" statement, Kaine replied: "I will not issue any statement. I came on board with Senator Obama to help him. This is about him, not about me."

Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, the Union general who was asked to run for president, famously replied: "If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve."

Reports in Virginia and in Washington indicate that Obama's advisers are

screening the Virginia governor, a national co-chairman of the Illinois senator's campaign.

But pressed by a reporter during his appearance on WTOP radio, Kaine declined to say whether he has been vetted by the Obama campaign.

"I'm just not going to talk about my conversations with the campaign," he said.

Kaine's term as governor expires in January 2010. If an Obama-Kaine ticket were to win, Kaine presumably would resign before the presidential inauguration in January, handing the governorship to a Republican, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling.

Asked whether it is necessary for Obama to choose a running mate who served in the military and is experienced in foreign affairs, Kaine replied:

"The Obama campaign has been very, very good, and they've made a lot of good choices. I'm not going to presume to tell them what to do."

But Kaine also said he feels he could help Obama win the election better as governor than on his ticket.

"I haven't sought it. I'm not running for it. I'm not asking for it. I've never asked anything of the campaign. I didn't endorse him to get anything. I endorsed him to help him," Kaine said.

"And again, the area where I think I can be most helpful is in Virginia."

Asked when he next will meet with Obama, Kaine said "I don't know."

He added: "The only secret meeting I have [today while in Washington] is with my 13-year-old daughter."

Kaine was with his daughter Annella, whom he is taking to the Chincoteague pony roundup.

Outside the radio station, Kaine said he and Obama do not discuss other potential vice-presidential selections.

****For more, see our Washington Bureau’s video at http://www.mgwashington.com/index.php/news/article/video-kaine-and-the-veepstakes/1378/

"That's not a topic we talk about at all," Kaine said. "We talk about winning the election and what I can do, and obviously I've gone to some other states, but I mean, my main desire is to be sure we do well in Virginia."

Q: How does Vice President Kaine sound?

Kaine: My mom loves seeing me on lists. You know, that's that's fun for her. I've never taken it that seriously. Because, again, my motive is not to get anything or be anything except help him win.

Q: Who would be a good VP?

Kaine: It's a very personal choice and the only person who really knows the answer to that question is Senator Obama.

Q: What about serving a full term as governor?

Kaine: It is a—It's been a tremendous honor to be governor. I never—As someone who never thought I'd be in politics at all, and then I got mad at my city council one day and ran—I'm kind of amazed that here I am 14 years later and I'm in elective office and the governor of what I think is the best state in the country. I'm deeply devoted to Virginia and I'm going to be a public servant focused on Virginia for the rest of my life.

Speculation about a Kaine vice-presidential nomination has heightened this week, in part because of a feeling that he could help deliver Virginia's 13 electoral votes to Obama, which might be enough to put him over the top. No Democratic presidential nominee has carried Virginia since 1964.

The speculation already has drawn the ire of environmentalists because of Kaine's support of a coal-burning power plant in Southwest Virginia.

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network, which is suing to block the plant, said Kaine has been listed as one of the top 10 enemies of the environment.

Tyler Whitley is a staff writer for Media General's Richmond Times-Dispatch. Neil H. Simon of Media General News Service contributed to this report.