Democrats Plan SOTU Response: 'We Quietly Disagree'

The Democrats have selected newly elected Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine to deliver their response to the State of the Union.

On paper, this seems like a nice idea. He's not overly partisan and therefore won't offend anyone, he can appeal to the centrists and Christians that others can't, and his election was heralded last November as positive sign for Democrats as Congress faces midterm elections.

So what's the problem then? Well many are correctly noting that maybe Gov. Kaine is not ready for primetime in terms of oratory ability and credibility. Also, many of his positions (ie. on gay marriage) are not in line with what most Democrats believe. He is also non-critical of the Iraq war, defending it in speeches. I'm not saying the Democratic response should revolve around slamming the President over the war again (there's another time and place for that), but shouldn't the response at least involve a honest assessment of the status of that conflict?

I have nothing against the Governor, he has an important place in the Democratic party, but it seems the sole criteria in selecting him over others of equal status was that he won a red state. Is that the entire agenda of the Democratic party now? To try and win a red state? Big cultural/political shifts help parties win over previously out-of-reach states, not transparent pandering. Why don't the Democrats actually tackle the big issues, stand by their principles no matter how Melhman tries to spin them, and explain to the American people why their party is better and how the Republicans have betrayed them and sold them out... and then they will win a red state. The people are ready to hear that; hey, they've been paying attention.

I disagree with Arianna that Rep. Murtha should have been selected (though her reasons are valid); I personally would've preferred Russ Feingold. Given that we're very close to hearings on the wiretapping scandal (and that issue will likely be the one that finally brings all the President's other imperial misdeeds to the forefront), who better to deliver a response than the Senator who was at the front of the train on those issues before half the Democrats even boarded?