Gov. Timothy M. Kaine declined today to issue a "Shermanesque" statement that he would turn down Sen. Barack Obama’s request to be his vice presidential running mate.

Appearing this morning on the WTOP radio show in Washington, Kaine said he is "flattered" by the attention but thinks he could better help Obama win Virginia from the governor’s mansion rather than as a running mate.

But pressed by a reporter, Kaine declined to say whether he has been vetted by the Obama campaign.

"I’m just not going to talk about my conversations with the campaign," he said.

Asked when he would next meet with Obama, Kaine said, "I don’t know."

"The only secret meeting I have [today while in Washington] is with my 13-year-old daughter," he said.

Kaine has become the object of recent speculation that he is on Obama’s short list of potential vice presidential candidates.

Obama recently has been heightening speculation that Kaine leads his list of vice-presidential prospects.

Amid reports in Virginia and Washington that Obama advisers are vetting Kaine, the presumptive presidential nominee signaled that he prefers an outsider as a running mate.

In a weekend interview with NBC News, Obama painted a picture of a No. 2 that strategists and analysts said lends credence to a Kaine candidacy.

"I'm going to want somebody with independence -- who's willing to tell me where he thinks, or she thinks, I'm wrong," Obama said.

He continued, "And I'm going to want somebody who shares a vision of the country; where we need to go -- that we've got to fundamentallychange not only our policies, but how politics works, how business is done in Washington."

Pete Brodnitz, the governor's personal pollster, said of Obama's remarks, "Any of that could apply to Kaine."

The Washington Post and Politico.com, an online political news service, quoted anonymous sources yesterday as saying Kaine is being screened by the Obama campaign and may be a finalist.

Delacey Skinner, Kaine's communications director, declined comment on whether the governor is supplying Obama with personal, governmental and political records.

Skinner repeated that Kaine is not ruling out a vice-presidential candidacy: "That would be very difficult to turn down."

Obama was scheduled to be in Arlington County last night for a private fundraiser. Kaine was to be in Washington today for a regularly scheduled radio appearance.

Kaine, an early Obama ally, is a national co-chairman of the Illinois senator's campaign. Two other Virginians, U.S. Sen. Jim Webb and former Gov. Mark R. Warner, who is running for the Senate, have removed themselves from consideration for the vice presidency.

Virginia, traditionally Republican in presidential years, has been trending Democratic during the past seven years, with two gubernatorial wins, a Senate victory and the takeover of the state Senate.

Kaine, a former Catholic missionary who is fluent in Spanish, perhaps could deliver the 13 electoral votes of a once-reliably red state, while appealing to Catholics, Hispanics and working-class whites.

However, Kaine lacks experience in military matters and foreign affairs. His record in Virginia is mixed because of frequent battles with General Assembly Republicans.

In addition to Kaine, Obama is said to be considering U.S. Sens. Evan Bayh of Indiana and Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, a state to which Kaine and Obama share family ties.

National news accounts depict Kaine as among Obama's closest advisers. However, Kaine strategists privately rebut such suggestions, saying the governor and Obama talk infrequently.

Larry J. Sabato, the University of Virginia political analyst, is skeptical of the Kaine boomlet, but he says it is the talk of the national political circles he monitors.

"Everybody who is plugged in says he really is on the short list," Sabato said of Kaine. "If that's the case, he would have to have been vetted by now."

Kaine's father-in-law, Republican former Gov. Linwood Holton, also said Kaine would be hard-pressed to refuse a spot on the national ticket.

Holton said he initially advised Kaine -- and the Democrat agreed -- that he should complete his term as governor. Kaine's four-year term expires in January 2010.

"But as support for Obama developed and it was likely Obama would be the nominee, I said to Tim, 'If that guy comes to you and offers you a cogent argument [for vice president], you have to consider it,'" Holton said. "Now I've become a fan of the idea."

Were he elected vice president, Kaine would relinquish the governorship to a Republican, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, perhaps presenting a battered state GOP an opportunity to begin reversing its fortunes.
Contact Jeff E. Schapiro at (804) 649-6814 or jschapiro@timesdispatch.com.

Staff writer Tyler Whitley contributed to this report.