There is precedent for that: Al Gore and George H.W. Bush both flip-flopped on abortion.

Of course, Kaine's stances on choice will be a big negative but Obama does not seem to care about that, as his own statements have proven.

i wouldn't vote for an obama/clinton ticket, i'd still write-in clinton for prez. with regards to kaine, he's also anti death penalty, for the same reason he's anti choice: his catholic background. however, to his credit, he was up-front about both, and stated that he would follow the law as gov., not his personal convictions.

The people who insist feminists who insist on Hillary are not being true feminists are truly ignorant.  MOST women see Hillary as the best and brightest representing US.  For them to say "any woman except Hillary"  it conservative paternalistic, talking down.  It's how you talk to a child who is making a choice with which you do not agree because perhaps it is not good for them. So you distract them with other choices.  But here's the thing some (Dean and DLC) don't get: women are NOT children and we don't need them making the choice for us.  We have clearly told them who with think is the best.  It's Hillary.  She and Obama were at best splitting the electorate; in reality she won for many of us.  But they fear our voices; they fear our power; they need to get over themselves.

As Governor of KS, she has been a steadfast supporter of the right to choose.  She stood up to big coal and the health insurance industry.  She has a remarkable ability to exploit cleavages in the GOP, converting Republicans to Democrats (i.e. John Moore, Mark Parkinson, and Paul Morrison).  And was re-elected by a landslide margin of 18%.

Does anyone really think that Tim Kaine could hold a candle to that record?

maybe if Obama's camp had handled talk of his drug use the same way GW did in 2000 by saying I was young and stupid and won't discuss it further, then talk of Obama's drug use would not have been seen as racist.  Because calling it racist when it was OK to talk about it with Bill Clinton and GW tends to make the case that Obama must be the "affirmative action" candidate.

So maybe those on both sides who still want to raise these old wounds should, as you say, go away.

Even with Hillary as VP, I know many -- myself included -- who will still choose to sit this Election out.  The potential of an Obama loss in November is the only way to push Dean and Brazile out of the DNC and, perhaps, shake up the Dem Party enough to force real Change.

It would be painful for me to watch Hillary as a VP candidate. She is so much more qualified than him. A qualified women playing second fiddle to an unqualified man would be too painful.

Democratic party needs to relearn the lessons of the McGovern defeat. They have once again become the party of the liberal elites. They have open contempt for the working class in this country.

I think Daschle is just the type of person Obama would go with and he's certainly been a big booster which I think counts for a lot with Obama.  Biden and Bayh are good bets.

But these things are often surprises, and I wouldn't put it past Obama to produce a running mate that isn't even in the discussion at this point.

As for Clinton, although it would certainly serve to unify the party and mollify her supporters as you state, I think it would also do some harm in the following ways:

1. She'd have to keep awfully quiet or she'd run the risk of eclipsing him on policy and the like.

2. She still does have baggage.

3. Many people might see it as a case of his having to choose her -- that is, weakness on his part.

Steve Lombardo at Pollster.com raises the question, and Carol Avedon posted about it Tuesday.

Over a month ago we said that the 2008 presidential race was becoming a referendum on Barack Obama. Now the polling data has confirmed our hypothesis, and national pundits have said much the same thing. Pause for a moment and consider how truly incredible and unlikely this is. We are six years into an unpopular war and smack in the middle of a modest recession. Every environmental voting factor suggests that this election should be about George Bush and his policies, NOT the Democrat. But to this point, this race is almost totally about Obama. The upside is that he is the talk of the nation and McCain is virtually invisible. The downside, though, is that the Democrats appear to have lost--or at least temporarily ceded--their most important weapon: anti-Bush sentiment.

Lombardo thinks there may be time to go after Bush and tie him completely to McCain, but he is not sure.  

By the way, Kaines stances on choice and stem cell research are the typical tight rope VA dems have to walk around here. I don't think they'll have to play that game much longer, but they do now anyway. So I'm not sure I'd count that against him to tell you the truth. But of course since Obama isn't completely pro-choice, that issue is a big looser for Kaine IMO.

Would her personal story, much better than Obama's from a narrative point of view (IMHO), force him to put Hillary on the ticket? Would female voters resent it if he didn't and lost to the McCain/Palin ticket thereby making Palin the first female VP and not Hillary? would gas prices really plummet if Palin got the nod?

•  I believe Obama will lose in November and I don't want Hillary to become another Ferraro.

• VP pick makes absolutely no difference to voters. People vote for the candidate not the VP choice.

Yeah, not like The One.

LOL! Despite all his flip flopping his cult followers still think Obama is a different kind of politician. All his pandering to religious right, on FISA, on abortion.....nothing shakes their belief in The One.

Hillary takes positions, popular and unpopular, and sticks with them. From Iraq to FISA.

What "idea" is Obama running on?

Other than; "lets all get long", "end to partisanship", "hope", "change"..........

These are not ideas. These are slogans from Oprah, Dr Phil.