Tim Kaine as Veep?

Quite a glowing New York Times piece today on Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, whom “the Obama campaign is eyeing…as a potential running mate, seeing in him a like-minded breath of fresh air who has also shown he can win in a red state.”

Can’t wait to compare this article's breathless praise and grudging mention of critics with whatever they're going to write about McCain’s eventual Veep choice, but that’s obviously a post for another day.

Kaine does have some advantages: pro-life, charismatic, hailing from a purple state. But. He’s been Governor in Virginia since 2006. Just over two and a half years in office.

This means that, between the two of them, Obama and Kaine would have roughly one-fourth McCain's experience in top-level politics.

I'm in. Kaine for Veep!

On the other hand:

The choice of former Virginia governor Mark R. Warner to give the Tuesday night keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention is likely to spark a fresh round of speculation about Sen. Barack Obama's vice presidential choice.

Warner's selection is unlikely to be good news for current Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, who has been a finalist for the running mate job. The prospect of two Virginia governors giving speeches on successive nights at the convention is thought to be unlikely.

Obama's running mate, whoever it is, is scheduled to give the keynote on Wednesday.

So maybe I’m punditizing over nothing.