From the AP:

WASHINGTON – Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine is set to become the next chairman of the Democratic Party.

Two Democratic officials said Sunday that President-elect Barack Obama has chosen the governor to take over the Democratic National Committee.

The officials spoke to The Associated Press on a condition of anonymity because the decision had not yet been officially announced. The Washington Post first reported the selection Sunday on its Web site.

Kaine plans to work at the party part-time until 2010, when his term as governor is up and he can take over the DNC full-time.

Current DNC chairman Howard Dean plans to step down Jan. 21, the day after Obama’s inauguration.

I like Tim Kaine – he’s the current governor of my state; but having said that, he has some tall boots to fill that’s being left by Howard Dean.  I hope Governor Kaine sticks with the formula that Dean crafted that led to the Democrats taking back both Houses of Congress and finally giving them the Presidency after almost 20 years.

However, the fact that former DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe is planning to run when Kaine’s term is up in 2010 is giving me indigestion.  Y’all saw his track record as DNC Chair – what is on it to inspire confidence that he will be a better governor than he was a DNC Chair?

A former DNC chairman, Terry McAuliffe, said Saturday he intends to run for governor of Virginia. In a video posted on his Web site, McAuliffe said he will make his intention to run official on Wednesday as part of a weeklong campaign kickoff.

McAuliffe faces two other Democrats who have been active for nearly a year in an already contentious nomination fight to succeed Kaine. State Sen. Creigh Deeds narrowly lost the attorney general’s race in 2005, and former House Democratic Caucus chairman Brian Moran is also in the race.

McAuliffe faces some stiff competition for the Democratic nomination – mainly from Moran, who, as far as I can tell, is pretty popular in the Commonwealth.  I’m still trying to catch up on Virginia politics, now that I live here.

What say you, JJP Readers, about the Kaine pick for DNC Chair?  Discuss and thread, please.

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