Hillary Clinton goes with her heart in choosing Tim Kaine

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump don’t share much, but when it came to picking a running mate, they made similar choices — albeit with opposite rationales.

Clinton’s announcement that she had chosen Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine for the Democratic ticket in some ways was a parallel to Trump’s choice of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence last week: highly respected, wellliked and low- key ( OK, some say boring) politicians who have served both in statehouses as governor and in Washington as members of Congress. Both have three children, including a son in the Marines.

But Trump said he settled on Pence — over two finalists with whom he had closer relationships, Chris Christie and Newt Gingrich — because Pence would help unite his divided party. A fiscal and social

conservative, Pence reassures the right that Trump can be trusted.

On the other hand, Clinton settled on Kaine — over more provocative options like Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren — even though he risks exacerbating divisions in her party.

The progressives who had backed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and his unexpectedly strong challenge to Clinton in the Democratic primaries had urged her to choose a running mate that would reassure the left on issues such as trade deals and Wall Street regulation. That could have been Sanders or Warren or Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Some Democrats lobbied for a No. 2 with more of a spark, someone who might strengthen Clinton’s standing with Millennials who tell pollsters they are repelled by Trump but not yet attracted to Clinton. That could have been a younger choice, perhaps one who offers racial diversity, such as New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker or Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro.

But Kaine always had the best odds.

For starters, he’s a white man, a demographic group that now supports Trump. He’s a devout Catholic, a former missionary and a fluent Spanish speaker. He has some national- security credentials as a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees. Kaine’s possible election as vice president wouldn’t turn his Senate seat over to a Republican; Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe would make that appointment.

While Kaine is no conservative, he’s a relative moderate who has supported some trade deals, to the dismay of many progressives. Picking him reflects Clinton’s confidence that she already has the help she needs to unite her party: Trump.

And Hillary Clinton likes Kaine. So does Bill Clinton.

If she wins in November, Hillary Clinton’s vice president will need to be comfortable dealing not only with the current president but also with the past one, although Bill Clinton’s precise role in a second Clinton administration isn’t yet clear.

Having seen more than one White House operation upclose, Hillary Clinton understands more than most presidential candidates the value of having a vice president she can trust. She chose one as much for his aid in governing as for his help in getting elected.

Trump’s conventional choice, rather than picking an Hispanic, for instance, helped clear the way for Clinton to make a similarly conventional choice.

But in his case, Trump was going with his head. Clinton was going with her heart.

Clinton chose Kaine as much for his aid in governing as for his help in getting elected.