July 23, 2016

"Is a ‘Boring’ Choice the Right One for Clinton?"



I was a little surprised to see that teaser on the front page of the NYT (which otherwise seems to be puffing up Hillary and her roll-out of her VP). Clicking through, the title becomes — by leaving out "boring" — boring: "Is Tim Kaine the Right Running Mate for Hillary Clinton?" But it does focus our attention on the one of the 4 essays that is positive, the one in the top right quadrant, saying boring is good:



Well, that kind of reminds me of how I reacted to the news when I heard it yesterday:
I don't know if I really need to put up a post for this, because it's very boring...

... but Hillary picked Kaine.

ADDED: Don't get me wrong. I like boring. I'd like a presidential race between Pence and Kaine. I don't want my excitement from government.

66 comments:

Quaestor said...

Is incompetence boring? How about malfeasance? An HRC presidency would be boring only in regard to its rhetoric.

Birkel said...

Boring as we race toward 35 trillion in debt.

Big Mike said...

Boring, yes, but anyone who thinks Kaine is a centrist must be pretty far left of the true center.

Tommy Duncan said...

The Tim Kaine choice is already getting old on the new media. The real story is not a boring VP choice. The hot story is the Wikileaks release of hacked DNC e-mails showing favoritism and spying against Bernie.

We are looking at a triple whammy against Hillary in 24 hours: Islamic terror in Munich, boring Tim Kaine and damning Wikileaks DNC e-mails.

Events are not kind to Hillary this weekend.

It will be interesting to see how the Wikileaks event influences the Democrat convention. It will also be interesting to see if the Philadelphia police attempt to control the protestors at the convention in the way we saw the Cleveland police control the crowd..

Tommy Duncan said...

#KaineAndUnAble

YoungHegelian said...

Look at it this way: Cynical or simply good political calculations, HRC knows that the minorities will either stay home or vote for her. The Lefties will probably bitch about it, but vote for her or stay home or vote Jill Stein. What they won't do is vote for Trump en masse.

There are an awful goddamn lot of white people in this country. If HRC doesn't bring a sizable tranche of them back into the fold, there's a good chance that Trump wins. Thus, Kaine.

Anonymous said...

Hillary made a calculated bet that Kaine would bring in more moderates and NeverTrumper voters than Elizabeth Warren would bring in progressive voters. Liberals and progressives aren't going to vote for Trump because they're angry or disappointed with her choice of Kaine. He has enough social justice chops to make him appealing to most progressives. He is well spoken and appealing to a wider group of people than Warren. I was dissapointed in her choice until I heard him speak today. He is an impressive speaker, has an appealing persona and his liberal bona fides are excellent.

Eleanor said...

What white people are Kaine supposed to attract? Hillary already has all of the white women she's going to get. What appeal does Kaine have to white guys who aren't already solidly voting for her? He's a classic beta-male. Not exactly a "man's man". Who is going to say "I wasn't going to vote for Hillary, but now that she's chosen Tim Kaine, she's got my vote?"

YoungHegelian said...

@Unknown,

He has enough social justice chops to make him appealing to most progressives. He is well spoken and appealing to a wider group of people than Warren. I was dissapointed in her choice until I heard him speak today. He is an impressive speaker, has an appealing persona and his liberal bona fides are excellent.

Is that how you talk to each other down at Correct the Record? Or do only you talk like that when David Brock is around so he won't go insane, well, at least in public?

I'm sorry, but that sounds just like the sort of press release boiler plate that a supervisor might hand you & say "Type this in....".

You really don't get it here, do you? No one here talks about the candidates like they're our dreamy boyfriend & we just came back from a hot date.

Mutaman said...

"What white people are Kaine supposed to attract? "

The white folks who don't like HRC but realize Trump is mentally ill. The white folks who want some adults running things.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

You'd like a race between Pence and Kaine? So would I. So much better than what we are sitting through right now.

Anonymous said...

Young Hegelian,
Again with the obsession about commenters named Unknown working for the DNC. I mocked you a few days ago because of your continuous complaints about liberal commenters "working" for someone, some organization. I am a private person, not employed by any political organization. I don't even belong to the Democratic Party. My comment above was exactly how I felt about Clinton's choice of Kaine. What would you rather I have said?

Delayna said...

If you want to guarantee less excitement in government, take their power away. Once the stakes are "who gets the best chair at the next state dinner" instead of "who gets to plunder the treasury and manipulate the population" I may not bother to vote.

Anonymous said...

I'd rather Kaine headed the ticket. His speech today impressed me far more than any Clinton has made this far.

Kate said...

People may not want an exciting candidate, but they do want to feel engaged and confident about their vote. The NYT would like a little of the Trump-voters' enthusiasm without the Trump, and Kaine is not the man to inspire that. I'm not surprised their ambivalence slipped out.

Anonymous said...

Once voters, especially Democratic voters get to know more about Kaines background I think he will gain a greater following. He was a missionary, a civil rights layer for 17 years, a mayor, a governor and now a Senator. I never knew he was such an interesting and well rounded guy. Plus he went up against the NRA in Virginia and that is pretty impressive to liberals. He's not nearly as much of a nothing burger I was afraid he was. I realize he won't appeal to most conservatives, but I'm trying to explain how liberals and Democrats will warm up to this guy. We progressives will get over our dissapointment that Hillary didn't choose,Warren

Eleanor said...

Conservatives who refuse to vote for Trump aren't going to vote for Hillary because she chose Kaine. They'll vote for Gary Johnson. That might help Hillary win, but not directly, and Kaine will not play a role at all. If she chose Kaine to get the Never Trumpers, it was a yuuuge miscalculation. She should have gone after Bernie's voters. The Never Trumpers still would have voted for Gary Johnson.

YoungHegelian said...

@Unknown,

My comment above was exactly how I felt about Clinton's choice of Kaine. What would you rather I have said?

How about you give us your best critical analysis of the weaknesses of the Clinton campaign vis-a- vis the Trump campaign. What weaknesses does Hillary have to shore up to beat The Donald?

Oh, & by the way, Correct The Record is not the DNC.

Mark said...

How about you give us your best critical analysis . . .

Please let's not. This hack is tiresome.

Anonymous said...

I'm not here to talk up Hillary's weakness dude. Aren't they obvious enough? I'm discussing my opinion of why I think Kaine was a smart choice afterall. As far as doing anything to beat the Donald, it won't take much. The Donald is his own worst enemy, his behavior will ensure his defeat.

Anonymous said...

As far as Trump's behavior, Start with this recent comment of Trumps, "I alone can fix it". Doesn't that give you pause? Does that sound normal?

LYNNDH said...

Better than "I alone can break it some more"

Bad Lieutenant said...

Blogger Unknown said...
I'm not here to talk up Hillary's weakness dude


Hi, Chuck!

Bad Lieutenant said...

Blogger Unknown said...
I'm not here to talk up Hillary's weakness dude


Hi, Chuck!


.......

Funny that. Anyone notice that Chuck, the fabulous Michigan election lawyer, has dropped off the face of the earth?

The pretense was a lot of work. A flood of Unknown and Anonymous is much easier.

Why don't you tell us how you're all lifelong conservative Republicans who just can't stand this one candidate? That always works. If only they had nominated that wonderful Jeb! Or that brave, brave Ted Cruz.

Anonymous said...

Chuck was here yesterday IIRC. I don't care what Chuck's political leanings are, they are none of my concern or my business. As for myself I'm a true blue progressive liberal who usually votes Democratic. Poor Chuck, hounded by his fellow conservatives

David said...

The "Progressives" are going to vote for her anyway. She is counting on that, and probably correctly.

Kaine is a good choice for her. She's trying to keep the nation terrified of Trump, that wild and crazy Nazi, so she wants plain vanilla establishment guy for a running mate.

If she wins, I expect Kaine to be president some day. Her health may make if hard for her to finish her first term.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Hi, Chuck! That was quick! Do you get extra credit for contradicting yourself within a paragraph?

David said...

As far as Trump's behavior, Start with this recent comment of Trumps, "I alone can fix it". Doesn't that give you pause? Does that sound normal?

None of them are normal. The last two "normal" presidents were Truman and Eisenhower.

Anonymous said...

Hope this doesn't make anyone's head explode. Looks like this might be something Chuck could sign on to.

FIRST LOOK --Lifelong Republicans and Bush ‘43 alums John Stubbs and Ricardo Reyes launched Republicans for Hillary Friday, and told Playbook in an interview they are trying to provide a “home and a safe space for Republicans who are on what is a very personal and in many cases difficult journey to vote for Secretary Clinton,” Stubbs said. The group, which isn’t looking to raise big money or launch a super PAC, say they believe that electing Clinton could save the Republican Party as we know it. “Strategically speaking we will be better off as a Republican Party after four years of Clinton when we can reorganized and look at where we are,” Reyes said. Full op-ed in Washington Post.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/playbook/2016/07/knowing-kaine-exclusive-republicans-for-hillary-interview-weekend-reads-bday-david-brock-215488#ixzz4FHgM8X9c
Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook

Sebastian said...

Sure. Cattle futures, Castle Grande, Rose firm records in WH, bimbo eruptions, more bimbo reputations, the Benghazi video, the Libya civil war, the email fiasco, the lies about the email fiasco, the lies about the lies about the email fiasco, $100M+ net worth because?, $250M "foundation": yeah, boring.

Quaestor said...

The unknown troll wrote: The Donald is his own worst enemy, his behavior will ensure his defeat.

I think I read that last year in regard to the nomination.

TA said...

I can live with Kaine. I'm hoping for a Clinton victory followed by a Clinton stroke.

jg said...

That's quite a resemblance.

You're an influence, I'm sure.

YoungHegelian said...

Unknown,

I'm not here to talk up Hillary's weakness dude. Aren't they obvious enough?

Of course not. Then, you'd have to show what you wrote to your bosses & they'd be pissed that you showed some independent thought, & you might not get paid for your work here.

You really are a trip, Unknown profile #09540825485369496575. Every one here & the vast audience of lurkers see you for what you are: a paid shill.

Anonymous said...

"Paid", I wish, lol. You have no idea how comical that is.

shiloh said...

"a paid shill."

This is quite nonsensical ie at a 90/10 majority con blog why would you pay anyone when most folk here, small group to be sure, have already made up their mind who they're voting for.

IOW a waste of $$$.

That said it's also nonsensical to use the nic unknown/anonymous at a blog unless you want to cause trouble ie troll. And you can easily do that w/a "normal" user name anyways, so what's the point.

Now if you used another name previously and were ashamed of your past performance using said name or were picked on mercilessly and just want to start afresh after said experience just pick another name. Using unknown/anonymous makes anyone stand out as a trouble making troll.

Now if you want to stand out as a trouble making loser troll it makes perfect sense.

Congrats!

>

Oh, is a boring choice the right one for Clinton?

'52/'56 Nixon
'60 LBJ
'64 Humphrey
'68/'72 Agnew
'76 Mondale
'80/'84 Bush41
'88 Quayle
'92/'96 Gore
'00/'04 Cheney
'08/'12 Biden


Yes!

Jon Ericson said...

Rah, Rah, Go, Team Go!
Cheerleaders, ugly ones.
Nonsensical!
Congrats!
I yield my time!
Yes!

etc. etc.
Rinse, repeat
Get a new schtick

Anonymous said...

Shiloh,
There are people who comment here who do not want to be identifiable to others for purposes other than "making trouble". I've posted here on Althouse since 2010. I have reasons for using an "unknown" moniker that is nobody's damn business. There are a few people here who immediatly try to glean personal information about you for nefarious purposes. As far as any of the Unknowns getting paid, I seriously doubt that. I sure as hell am not paid. And Shiloh be careful about calling others a troll, as you are identified as a troll the second you post anything here in these comments sections. They see the name Shiloh and immediatly say "troll".

Anonymous said...

Jon Ericson= now that is a troll.

Paco Wové said...

"She should have gone after Bernie's voters."

I assume the calculation was that there are more potential votes in the middle than with any of the D.'s usual captive fringe groups. Kaine is probably meant to seem like a nice, calming, ordinary, normal, center-left politician, the same way that Pence was probably intended as a nice, calming, ordinary, normal, center-right politician.

Paco Wové said...

"I have reasons for using an "unknown" moniker that is nobody's damn business."

That's up to you, but a bunch of people picking the exact same pseudonym sure can make it difficult to follow conversations.

Anonymous said...

And Paco is one of those few that seem to like stalking others here.

YoungHegelian said...

@Shiloh/Unknown,

Did you miss that DNC email from Wikileaks that shows that Hillary clones were doing exactly what I accused Unknown of doing?

Althouse is in the listing of the top 100 conservative web sites, & bluntly, has a rather unique ecosystem. Not only is there the quality of the Professor's posts, but, in terms of the commenters, there isn't a better conservative web site (Lord Jesus, is that a frightening thought, but it's true). Are there Hillary pod-people showing up at other conservative sites? Good question. I don't know since I visit so few of them regularly, but I bet so. Do you really think it's a coincidence that Althouse makes "Best of the Web" in the WSJ, & in a blog that had absolutely no hard-core Hillaryites, they suddenly started coming out of the woodwork?

As for you, Unknown profile #09540825485369496575, you claim we're all paranoid, but you hide behind multiple layers of anonymity without stating any reason, you refuse to budge off-message in a forum where none of the regular players have uncritically shilled for any candidate (yes, even Achilles & Trump), and, when pushed, you refuse to yield an inch on your shtick.

Prove me wrong, Unknown -- drop the shtick, & actually think rather than preach for a posting or two.

Paco Wové said...

"And Paco is one of those few that seem to like stalking others here."

I'm not "stalking" anybody. I just notice when people start switching identities on a daily basis. That is hardly normal commenter behavior, especially when a large group shows up at approximately the same time.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...


This is a conservative website? Does Althouse know this? Are there liberal people showing up on other so called conservative websites? I would assume there are. Why, shouldn't there be? Do conservative people post on liberal websites? Why yes I bet they do. So what? Why does it bother Young Hegelian that a commenter may not choose to engage with him? Does if not occur to YH that there are commenters tjat would like only to express an opinion? Does anyone ever convince anyone of anything?

And Paco needs to chill the fuck out. Stop being so damn intrusive.

Paco Wové said...

"Paco needs to chill the fuck out"

People who sockpuppet sure get pissy about it when it's pointed out, Heide... err,, EmilL ... Luigi. I wonder why that is?

Anonymous said...

I've seen several threads disrupted today by commenters here obsessing over the identity of other commenters. It doesn't only happen with those named unknown. Why do you not respond to what the commenter has written or ignore the commenter alltogether? To continuously derail a thread over such nonsense must be frustrating to others.

Anonymous said...

Again Paco, with the obsessing over ithe dentity of other commenters. Get a life.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Eh, not worth engaging.

YoungHegelian said...

@HeideCruise,

Why does it bother Young Hegelian that a commenter may not choose to engage with him? Does if not occur to YH that there are commenters tjat would like only to express an opinion?

Yet another recent vintage anonymous profile rises to the challenge.

Engagement? Please show me engagement. I see nothing but shilling, in a forum that heretofore had basically none.

You're new here, Heide. I'm not. I've been through attempts to derail this site before, & I know the look & smell of them.

shiloh said...

"They see the name Shiloh and immediatly say "troll"."

Perhaps you missed ~ And you can easily do that w/a "normal" user name anyways, so what's the point.

Re: anonymity, there's no such animal on the net ie you post at a blog, blog owner has your IP. And you can easily find out everything there is to know about someone w/their IP address.

Speaking of wikileaks, just ask the Pentagon about security and keeping secrets.

>

Re: Hillary/Bernie and conspiracy minutiae!

Documents show Sanders staffers breached Clinton voter data

btw, shocking to know the DNC did not like socialist Sanders.

Next you're gonna tell me that Reps and Dems hate each other!

>

And if folks think I'm a troll or worse than that uninteresting, feel free to ignore me which I've mentioned a couple times here previously.

Indeed, there are many here I ignore as it's a real time saver. It's very easy to ignore someone unless one is obsessed. It's also very easy to stop posting here altogether. Again, shocking!

Anonymous said...

As I said the commenter may choose to NOT engage and may merely want to express an opinion. I believe that is allowed here. Why was it necessary for me to repeat that? Did you not understand it the first time I said it? What I see is an immediate knee jerk reaction to any liberal commenter that dares comment here. Guess what you don't run the comments section. When I see many comments here I think, " yikes what a right wing shill". I don't however think it is necessary to say it out loud, but that is your perogative. Whatever.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Not for you apparently, you can't even yield back the balance of your time. What is your major malfunction, Private Pyle, I mean Shiloh?

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

NeverTrumpers are just a signal to Independents that Trump isn't part of the GOPe that they've been disgusted with since 2006. Trump understands that orthodoxy is an electoral trap. For the Donks, orthodoxy is an electoral necessity.

shiloh said...

"Not for you apparently"

Went 3 yrs and 3 mos without posting at Althouse.

take care, blessings

YoungHegelian said...

@Shiloh,

Documents show Sanders staffers breached Clinton voter data

Look at the date on that story, shiloh. Old news or what?

The upshot of that whole episode is that it wasn't really clear that the Sanders' people "breached" the Clinton data, or if the IT retarded DNC (they got hacked, remember?) failed to put in the proper security measures to prevent such a breach, whether it be accidental or purposeful.

My guess: all the data was in one database & some enterprising BernieBro put in "select * from VoterDataDB" & then went "Holy Shit!" as Hillary's voter data scrolled by.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Bless you twice as much, Private Shyle!

YoungHegelian said...

@HeideCruise,

Yes, feel free to express an opinion. Just don't expect the rest of us to go "Wow, just what the forum needs --- someone to spout Hillary Talking Points!".

You may have noticed we don't play beanbag around here, even among our own dear little band of conservative troglodytes. Why should it be any different for you?

Anonymous said...

YH, I don't. Nor do I care what you think of me or if you agree with me. I'm here to express an opinion. If you want me to emulate you, I will dutifully say "what a crock of shit", when I hear right wing talking points here, which is daily.

Jon Ericson said...

Unknown# 44 troll said...
Jon Ericson= now that is a troll.

Unknown# 44 troll said...
And Paco is one of those few that seem to like stalking others here.

You are my new favorite troll Unknown #44 troll. :)
HeideCruise troll is my other new favorite. :)
Shiloh troll, don't do that excessive white space thing, My wheel mouse finger is getting all "carpal tundromed". :)
AND I WILL PUT THIS HERE AGAIN
troll

Urban Dictionary says:
One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument.

The Free Dictionary says:
a. A person who posts inflammatory or otherwise unwanted material on an electronic forum, especially anonymously.
b. The material so posted.

So quit denying y'all are trolls.
And quit accusing folks who are not trolls of being trolls.
Got it?
Just troll away

Jon Ericson said...

I mean just be a Freder or a machine, and don't insult us with the:
I'm not a troll, you are, bullshit.
OK?

HT said...

You say you don't want entertainment from your government. Based on everything in your blog, I don't believe you. I believe you do want or like entertainment from your government or politics.

Rusty said...

Funny that. Anyone notice that Chuck, the fabulous Michigan election lawyer, has dropped off the face of the earth?

His reincarnation was pretty transparent from the get go.
Sorta like ,'name that tune in three notes'.

ga6 said...

"He was a missionary, a civil rights layer for 17 years, a mayor, a governor and now a Senator"

In other words he has spent a great deal of his life living off the tax payer or guilt ridden church ladies. And yes civil right lawyers make a great deal of their income from settlements from their friends in government, those other lawyers behind the swinging doors...