Tim Kaine sets 2012 Democratic National Convention somewhere. But will Joe 'BFD' Biden be there?

According to the Mayan calendar, 2012 may not be the best time to hold a national political convention, let alone the next U.S. presidential election. What with the world said to end and all.

Hitting Democrats especially hard.

Nonetheless, the diligent Tim Kaine, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has already scheduled his party's delegates and hangers-on to gather somewhere 125 weeks from now to renominate Barack Obama and Joe Biden for a second four-year term. This early announcement has nothing to do with trying to look beyond the oncoming November iceberg.

In the eloquent style of Joe "Big Effing Deal" Biden, Kaine has taken to his party blog -- genteelly dubbed "Kicking Ass."  There, he's made the announcement in plenty of time for hotel and plane reservations, if only anyone knew where the party's party would be. That part comes later.

Suffice it to say, the opening gavel will fall on the 46th Democratic National Convention the week of Labor Day, Sept. 3, 2012.

As for the other part of Kaine's claim, that Biden will be on the ticket, that remains to be seen.

Despite the professed popularity of Joe's profane proclamation, he has made more than his fair share of BFG's (Big Effing Gaffes) since the D.C. newcomer from Illinois chose him in the summer of 2008 not for....

... all three of Delaware's electoral votes. Obama chose him to lend foreign policy wisdom and a more mature gravitas of experience to the ticket headed by a guy barely out of political training wheels in the Illinois state legislature.

Since then, the Smoker-in-Chief has shown his impatience and made fun of garrulous Joe on more than one occasion. After candidly suggesting at one campaign appearance that Hillary Clinton would have been a better Obama VP choice, Joe was media-muzzled more than Sarah Palin.

Politically,  jolly JB has for all intents and purposes served his purpose, perhaps even outlived it. But what can you do before the first midterm elections except send him to chat up the unions, gays and secondary foreign leaders who don't merit a presidential visit? And do some bargain-basement fundraisers for Kaine's committee.

Come 2012, Joe will be an Effing Old Man, about to turn 70, almost as old as the old Arizona guy who they suggested was too old to become president in 2008.

Likely time to let Joe take the train back to Wilmington for good.

And counting on a 2012 victory, as he must, Obama will want to have a 2016 heir-apparent at his left hand, a presidential-candidate-in-waiting as Al Gore was in Bill Clinton's second term.

And as George W. Bush forgot to obtain in his second term, leaving the GOP with the losing leftover candidate from 2000.

So who's available on the Democratic side? A woman would be good. She's parked over at the State Department for now or off at this week's distant diplomatic dance to do nothing about Iran.

And, anyway, could the two of them co-exist in the same executive office complex?

An ideal VP partner for Obama would be someone with executive experience, say, a former governor. Maybe one from a Republican state like, say, Virginia. Someone who believed in and committed to Obama at the very beginning of his hopeless candidacy in 2007.

Maybe someone who's Roman Catholic, like Biden. Someone who also went to Harvard like Obama and has a wife who also went to Harvard, like Obama's. Ideally, someone who also speaks Spanish. Someone patient, who won't ever overshadow the Real Good Talker with goofy gaffes.

Gee, who could that be?

Sounds kinda like Kaine himself, who'll have three long years of Washington experience under his belt by then. But the president couldn't possibly pick him. Kaine's too busy planning the details of the 2012 convention for Obama's second coronation with some VP partner TBD.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: White House

Comments

[Annagain]

Oh, yeah. Kaine. Wotta choice. Anti-gay, anti-choice, anti-stem cell, pro-Iraq.

Good going. Any more bright ideas.

[seba]

I predict

OBAMA/CLINTON.

Obama will be so unpopular, he will use Women Card like he did Race Card last time.

[Brian]

This will be astounding. Dozens of the most worthless, incompetent, corrupt politicians in history, occupying the same room.

History.

[Tina Ferrer]

I would say save the money. There is no way Obama will be elected for a second term. Al Gore has a better shot.

[Barry Popik]

Obama-Bloomberg?

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg helps with the business vote, the Jewish vote, perhaps the RINO and "independent" vote (as Bloomberg now is), plus he can spend a billion dollars on the campaign and not feel a thing.

Bloomberg has long wanted to become president, but will settle for VP if asked. He hasn't taken Spanish lessons for many years to retire to Bermuda.