Mr. Kaine Visits Iowa
Hillary Clinton’s running mate traveled to Iowa State University in Ames on Monday, and since I’m spending a bit of time in Ames, I went to see him.
And I came away with the wish that Tim Kaine was the Democrat running for president, not Mrs. Clinton.
Kaine’s campaign appearance at the university’s Memorial Union was supposed to begin at 2 p.m., but he didn’t step onto stage until 2:45. He was preceded by the usual assortment of too-many people introducing too-many other people. One of those “too-many” folks was the president of the Iowa State student Democrats, who informed the mostly-student crowd that this was indeed, “a very important election.” The audience seemed elated to hear this.
Another of the too-many speakers was a young lady with a British accent, who reassured her audience that she loves Iowa (the crowd liked that), that Donald Trump is “hateful” and that “there’s nothing more important than this election.” Audience members applauded all of it.
Another ISU student walked onto stage to inform us that “corporations are not paying enough” and that Clinton would fix that by raising the minimum wage. The crowd really enjoyed that one, as well as the student’s assertion that Hillary would help ISU students go to college “free.”
Mercifully, the next speaker was Anne Holton, who happens to be Mrs. Tim Kaine. She told the crowd that Hillary was a “great” candidate — then introduced her husband.
And he was worth the wait. Tim Kaine made a fast-paced, highly energetic presentation, ad-libbing every word. He moved all around the stage — visually engaging everyone he could — and he spoke well. He said the United States is composed of “upbeat, can-do, optimistic, patriotic people” and said the campaign is about a “difference in vision.”
He asked the crowd a series of questions: “Do you believe in climate science or not? Do you believe in LGBT equality or not? Should a woman be able to make her own healthcare decisions or not? Do you believe in immigration reform or deportation nation?” Then he compared and contrasted the Clinton campaign’s stances on those with Donald Trump’s. The crowd cheered.
Kaine talked about Trump’s recent “admission” that President Obama was, indeed, born in the United States. He said Trump’s years-long effort to question the president’s birth circumstance was “incredibly painful to millions of people” and promised that he and Clinton “are not going to let him (Trump) move on.”
And, of course, since he was speaking on a university campus, Kaine made a big point of talking about Democrats’ hopes of making college “affordable” for students. He said Clinton’s plan would mean “free tuition” for most Iowa State students. Those students in the audience showed their appreciation with much applause.
Kaine wrapped up his half-hour monologue by admitting the obvious — that the election is close — and that “winning will not be easy.” But he got the crowd aroused one last time by saying: “I have run races. I have won races. And I’m not going to lose this race.”
Kaine clearly showed that he is well-spoken, that he knows how to work a crowd and that he is far more “likeable” than Clinton, Trump or Mike Pence. He is a clear asset to the Clinton campaign — he should do quite well in his upcoming televised debate with Pence — and, yes, it would be awfully nice if he were the one heading the Democratic ticket.