2018 Note: this post, which seemed so right at the time, only proves that I am often wrong.
Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia has just removed all doubt about the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
I watched and listened to Donald Trump’s acceptance speech at the Republican convention Thursday night. At the time, I thought Trump made a powerful case that America is in decline and possibly on the verge of lawlessness. Trump talked about everything that’s wrong with America. His speech resonated with the mob inside the Republican convention hall.
A few moments ago, I watched and listened to Tim Kaine’s speech in Florida introducing himself as Hillary Clinton’s choice to be the Democratic nominee for vice president.
No contest. It’s all over.
Tim Kaine talked — with moral conviction — about everything that’s right with America. His speech will resonate with Americans from Atlantic to Pacific, from the Midwest to the Great Plains.
Tim Kaine just cemented Hillary Clinton’s victory over Donald Trump in the November presidential election. Write it down, take it to the bank. The election is over for Trump.
Hillary Clinton, it now appears, won the the electoral votes of the Commonwealth of Virginia on Friday evening when she selected Kaine to be her running mate.
And on Saturday, Clinton and Kaine, appearing together in Miami for the first time as the Democratic ticket, effectively won the electoral votes of Florida. Kaine’s deft inclusion of a few sentences in Spanish were warmly received.
Ohio suddenly seems almost irrelevant.
However, if Clinton and Kaine can win Virginia and Florida, their positive and optimistic vision for America’s future might just as easily sweep Ohio and all the Midwest states, including Indiana.
People think the vice presidential candidates don’t make a difference? This year looks like an exception.
We might be looking at an electoral vote landslide for Clinton and Kaine in November.
— Bernard John Hayden
Living Simply And Still On The Grid 
I’m pretty chuffed too. He was the compelling choice — you don’t want to take Booker or Warren out of the Senate when a Republican governor would replace either; we love Bernie but he’s old for the post and should be in some Cabinet post where his policy views will make a real difference, like HHS or Ag; Vilsack is a putz. Our Democratic governor will appoint Kaine’s successor, and Kaine will do a boffo job. There just isn’t anything to dislike about the man — Trump surrogates have been reduced to making fun of his Spanish accent.
LikeLike
Thanks, Ms. Sled. As a Virginian, you know more about Tim Kaine than most folks. And being familiar with your political views, I’m not surprised that you endorse Hillary’s choice. Do you think — as I hope — that Clinton and Kaine are now a lock to win Virginia in November?
LikeLike
Virginia is tentatively blue. And our last Republican governor disgraced himself pretty thoroughly. I won’t call it a lock, but it looks good.
LikeLike
This far in advance of the election, I’ll accept “looks good.” I look forward to the day when Virginia is solid blue. Meanwhile, I have to do my part to make sure Maryland doesn’t backslide from deep blue to pastel blue. Just now, we have some work to do in Maryland. Our present governor is Republican, and some parts of my state are a nasty shade of red.
LikeLike