http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/how-tim-kaine-matches-up-against-mike-pence-226052How Tim Kaine matches up against Mike Pence
Neither has a taste for smash-mouth campaigning. But both know how to draw blood when necessary.
By Burgess Everett
07/22/16 10:24 PM EDT
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Both are known for their distaste for smash-mouth campaigning. Yet each will attack when cornered, and can go on the offensive when necessary.
That’s how allies and rivals alike describe Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, the presidential running mates who will go head-to-head in a single, high-stakes debate in early October. Pence, Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee, and Kaine, who will appear on Hillary Clinton’s ticket, aren’t likely to play the traditional attack dog roles. But each knows how to draw blood when necessary.
Kaine gave a hint of it in 2012, when he patiently laid back in the final debate of Virginia’s Senate race, waiting for his foe to make the first move.
“I want to be Virginia’s senator. Tim wants to be President Obama’s senator,” charged former GOP senator George Allen. “We deserve a strong independent voice, not an an echo.”
Kaine responded both casually and condescendingly: “I do not think it is anti-Virginia to support the president of the United States.” He followed the barb with a fusillade of numbers showing how partisan Allen was as a senator, ridiculing his claims of independence.
more
