Kaine endorses Obama at Richmond fundraiser

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama

By Warren Fiske
The Virginian-Pilot

RICHMOND - U.S. Sen. Barack Obama challenged 4,000 Democratic activists to have "the audacity of hope" on Saturday night and gained a key endorsement for his presidential bid from Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.

"We need a different kind of politics," Obama said during his keynote speech at the state Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. "It's time to turn the page on the grimness, pettiness and gridlock of the last few years."

Obama, an Illinois Democrat, called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, labeling the war a "tragic mistake."

He offered few specific solutions to national problems, but he said American leaders have been mired in a belief in recent years that problems are unsolvable.

"We can make sure every American has health insurance," he said. "What's been lacking is the political will and the audacity to believe."

In endorsing Obama, Kaine said: "The values orientation that this man has counts for an awful lot and makes me very confident. I won't lose a second of sleep with Barack Obama as president of the United States."

Kaine is the first governor outside of Illinois to endorse a candidate for president.

The senator's visit helped attract a record crowd to the state party's premier fundraiser. Tickets cost $250 apiece and, after expenses, the event at the Greater Richmond Convention Center is expected to net about $700,000 for the party.

More than the money, however, Democratic leaders were elated have a top-tier candidate such as Obama one year away from a presidential election. They said his presence suggests that Virginia, which has voted reliably Republican in the last 10 presidential contests, might be up for grabs in 2008.

Their optimism is based on Democratic victories in the last two gubernatorial races and the 2006 U.S. Senate race, in which Jim Webb upset George Allen, the Republican incumbent who at one point was viewed as a contender for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination.

"It's a changing state," said Susan Swecker, a longtime Democratic activist and former executive director of the state party. "For so many of the election cycles, the candidates never came during the general election because we were never given a shot."

Kaine made the same observation during an early evening news conference with Obama outside the Executive Mansion.

He noted that two top Republican presidential contenders - U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani - have held private fundraisers in Richmond this month.

"In the past, the Republican candidates took us for granted because they didn't need to come, and the Democratic candidates came some but didn't come much because it seemed like such an uphill struggle," Kaine said. "But in 2008, we'll have a lot of activity."

Obama said, "I think that Virginia is representative of a fundamental shift that has taken place in American politics.... I think it is a shift away from sharply ideological politics to a dynamic, common-sense approach."

The son of a Kenyan statesman, Obama said it was "humbling" to receive Kaine's endorsement in a city that was the capital of the Confederacy.

"For me to be able to stand here as an African American reflects the enormous progress that this country has made," he said during his news conference with the governor.

In 2005, Obama came to Virginia to help Kaine campaign for governor. The two discovered they had much in common: Their mothers were born in El Dorado, Kan.; both politicians graduated from Harvard Law School; and both practiced civil rights law. Kaine was once a missionary in Central America; Obama was a community organizer in Chicago.

Although Obama has been in the Senate only two years, Kaine said he is not concerned about whether the candidate has enough experience to be president.

"The basic experience I'm looking for begins very deeply with values," Kaine said.

Although Obama received an enthusiastic reception at the dinner, he is hardly a lock to win the state's Democratic primary next year. Many party activists interviewed Saturday said they are uncommitted. So are two of the biggest names in state party circles: former Gov. Mark Warner and Webb.

U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to be well organized in Virginia. She has hired Kaine's top political strategists from 2005 for leadership positions in her national campaign.

Meanwhile, former U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina on Friday gained the endorsement of Richard Cranwell, chairman of Virginia's Democratic Party.

Virginia will hold Democratic and Republican primaries on Feb. 12, 2008.

Because so many states are rushing to hold early contests next year, it is questionable whether the commonwealth will have much influence determining either party's nominee. At least 13 states will hold presidential primaries or caucuses before Virginia.

"By the time Virginia rolls around, the nominations may already be decided," said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist.

In the general election, though, Democrats are convinced Virginia will play a key role.