Gov. Kaine on Fox News Sunday

WALLACE: Governor Kaine, the Republicans have carried Virginia every election since 1964. And for all the talk about it becoming a purple state, Bush won by 9 points last time.

How much of a chance, if he were the nominee, would Obama have in November?

VIRGINIA GOV. TIM KAINE (D): Chris, I think Barack would have a great chance of winning. And what we saw in our primary on February 12th was he got more votes in an open primary than all of the Republican candidates combined.

One-third of his voters were first-time voters, and it was truly a mammoth turnout in his favor. And that suggests that just as the Democrat, Mark Warner, won the governorship in '01, I won in '05, Jim Webb won the Senate race in '06, we're going to see Virginia's votes in play for the first time in 44 years.

Now, here's Gov. Kaine on what Hillary Clinton should do if she fails to win Texas and Ohio on March 4:

WALLACE: If Hillary Clinton fails to win both Ohio and Texas on March 4th, should she drop out for the good of the party?

KAINE: I'm not going to presume to tell the Clinton campaign what they should do, but I think you've asked a precise question. I think it's very challenging for her if she does not win both states.

She's the leader in both states in the polling now, but what we see in the Obama campaign is really strong momentum in both Ohio and Texas. And if she's not able to win both, I think it makes it mathematically very difficult for her because of the way the Democrats use the proportional system for allocating delegates.

So again, I wouldn't presume to give advice to that campaign. They'll make their own decision. But I think it's a must win, that they must win both, and probably need to win convincingly to have the momentum to go forward.

WALLACE: If you're not giving advice, at some point for the good of the party, would the trailing candidate, whoever it is, need to get out to allow the Democrats to do what the Republicans are doing right now, which is to unite?

KAINE: I think that would be smart for either candidate. At some point it will be clear to both sides - when, again, you just look at the basic rules of math about how the delegates are counted and how many you need, at some point it will be clear what the outcome will be.

And I would expect in that circumstance that whoever is the trailing candidate would drop at that point.

Next, here's Gov. Kaine on the issue of "superdelegates":

WALLACE: Should they use their own judgment, or should they follow the popular will and vote for whoever at the end of the process is ahead in pledged delegates and popular vote?

KAINE: My sense, Chris, really, is kind of practically they will end up following the popular will. I've never been that worried about the superdelegate issue because I felt like there would be a momentum to this campaign, that the momentum by early March will be pretty clear.

My sense has been in talking to uncommitted superdelegates that they are going to follow that momentum. And so at the end of the day, you know, there's been a lot of speculation - could this be a brokered convention with superdelegates? - but you know, again, on the Obama side, we're seeing a very strong momentum in these last 11 contests beginning on Super Tuesday.

We continue to believe that there's likely to be good momentum into early March. And I think the superdelegates will follow the will of the electorate.

Here's Gov. Kaine on the possibility of being Barack Obama's running mate:

WALLACE: Governor Kaine, on the Democratic side, you've been mentioned as a possible running mate for either Obama, who - you're one of his main supporters, or for Clinton, because you might be able to put red states into play. What do you think about that?

KAINE: Well, I mean, these guys are giving me a good guide. Look, it's nice to be on a list. My mom likes it if I'm on a list. But I do have a very important job at hand, which is governing Virginia, and I want to do everything I can to help Barack win Virginia, and I think I can do that as governor.

You know, what we showed in the primary on February 12th - he won men voters overwhelmingly, women voters. He nearly won the white vote, won urban, rural, won the Latino vote.

There's an awful lot I can do in Virginia to help him be successful, and that's where I really want to focus.

Finally, here's Gov. Kaine on the Ralph Nader candidacy:

WALLACE: Governor Kaine, let me ask you, because, you know, it certainly wasn't a difference in 2004. It was in 2000 for Al Gore.

KAINE: Right. Well, I think it's kind of declining interest to the American public what Ralph says he's going to do. I mean, he's the Harold Stassen, you know, the great perennial candidate.

I mean, when you get into running for your third or fourth time, I don't think people will pay that much attention to it, and I wouldn't see it having any effect on the race.

So there you have it, Tim Kaine on the current state of the 2008 presidential contest. For the entire transcript, including a Chris Wallace question where he misstates Gov. Kaine's greenhouse gas targets, see here.

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