20 July 2016

Flathead Memo predicts Hillary will tap Sen. Tim Kaine for VP

Hillary Clinton will announce her choice for vice president Friday or Saturday, probably in Miami, FL. I predict she’ll choose 58-year-old Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, a former governor and lieutenant governor of that state, as well as a man with executive experience at the municipal government level.

There are other names in the mix, such as Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, 65, a former governor of Iowa, and retired admiral James Stavridis, a foreign policy expert who has never run for, let alone held, elective office.

I think she’s settled on Kaine, and that the discussion of other running mates amounts to misdirection, an attempt to keep the discussion, and suspense, going and to distract voters from the Republican convention.

Kaine would a good choice. His credentials are excellent, and he has the right temperament for the job. My preference, however, is 59-year-old Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon.