Kaine puts focus on outside-the-Beltway preference

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius continues to be named among the Democrats under serious consideration to become Sen. Barack Obama’s running mate, but she’s overshadowed today by speculation that puts Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine at the top of Obama’s list. It’s a case of the Washington insiders vs. the Washington outsiders, according to Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post. The current focus on Kaine actually may boost Sebelius’ standing because she is the other leading outside-the-Beltway choice.¢¢¢Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic tabs Sebelius and Kaine as “governing choices, not campaign choices.” They won’t solve any political problems for Obama, Ambinder says, but “they are solid; they are centrist-in-style; they are Washington outsiders; they know how to balance budgets and deal with Republicans.”¢¢¢Sebelius didn’t rate a mention on the Today Show this morning, but MSNBC analysts did a nice wrapup of what will drive the timing of running mate announcements by both Obama and Sen. John McCain.