Unpopular opinion: Tim Kaine was one of the worst VP picks in recent years. He brought nothing to the table and didn't complement Clinton's shortcomings at all. As much as I hate Pence, he destroyed him in that debate.
Totally & completely agree (here are my thoughts that I've previously shared on this matter):
Kaine was a highly qualified pick, but he was NOT a good pick. Sure, he by no means single-handedly doomed Hillary's campaign, but his choice was emblematic of why Hillary lost. Her number one challenge was convincing the Obama coalition & voters in general that she represented real change in a year when the electorate wanted an outsider. The VP pick was the one big chance for her to signal that, even though Hillary herself was the consummate establishment politician, she had heard the message loud & clear and was ready to shake things up.
And Hillary had a number of strong choices to pick from, including Warren (who clearly wanted the job), Sanders (politically unthinkable but he would've unified the party & supercharged millennial turnout), Brown (Sanders-lite), or even somebody like Castro or Booker who at least would've added charisma to the ticket & helped to keep the Obama coalition engaged.
So what happened? Hillary chose not just another insider, but one utterly lacking in charisma, apparently for no other reason than that she just felt more comfortable with Kaine than with somebody like Warren, who would've been a disruptive presence in Clintonworld. To be fair, I know Tim Kaine is a nice guy who's highly qualified & would've helped with Senate outreach, but the VP doesn't necessarily need to fulfill that role or any particular role from a governing standpoint.
It was surreal seeing Democratic Party insiders & the Washington press all sing Kaine's praises, while meanwhile it was obvious to many young &/or left-leaning voters that he was a terrible choice for the reasons I mentioned above.
I can't recommend this post enough times. Kaine is a nice guy, but I harbor A LOT of resentment that he was the running mate. He didn't provide any positive contribution to the campaign, and in such a close election (in PA, MI, WI) that matters and made a difference in the election.
