Governor’s Travels: Let’s See

Tim Kaine holds down two high-profile posts. He serves not only as governor of Virginia but as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. When he accepted President Obama's invitation to head the DNC, Kaine said he would not let his second job interfere with his first. Jim Gilmore attempted a similar balancing act when he became chairman of the Republican National Committee while still in the governorship. His RNC gig ended unhappily.

The job descriptions for governors and party chairmen share an entry: Travel, frequent. Governors attend conferences and embark on trade missions. Chairmen emcee fundraising extravaganzas and toot trumpets on behalf of their party's notables. The state -- i.e., taxpayers -- picks up the tab for a governor's official trips. The parties -- i.e., donors -- pick up the tab for a chairman's jaunts. In recent weeks Kaine has participated in party functions in Durham, Fort Lauderdale, Dallas, Miami, Chicago, and Kansas City. Events such as these do not always receive publicity in the commonwealth. Virginians might not know when their governor is rallying the out-of-town faithful.

Do these trips detract from the governor's so-called day job? Kaine of course says they do not, that he fulfills his DNC duties on his personal time. Ultimately, though, this is a question for the citizens to decide. Chores done for the parties do not resemble such personal activities as attending a parent-teacher conference at a child's school, enjoying an evening at a favorite pizza joint, or getting away from it all in a vacation cabin. Party leadership involves a significant public element.

Voters sometimes find official travel displeasing, moreover. George Allen's trips in preparation for a 2008 presidential run likely damaged him during his 2006 senatorial campaign, which he lost in an upset to Democrat Jim Webb. Early in his term, Doug Wilder earned a reputation as the "absentee governor." If Virginians are fairly to assess Kaine's performances at two demanding jobs, then they need more accessible details regarding his DNC duties.

Last week the Republican Party of Virginia filed a Freedom of Information Act request for Kaine's DNC travels. Partisanship influenced the gesture, but that does not make it inappropriate. In a Tuesday conversation with

Times-Dispatch reporter Jim Nolan, Kaine said that if people want to know where he has been they can ask. Well, yes, but including DNC events on the governor's official schedule would offer greater transparency. Although the governor can keep his golf game to himself, a partisan gala in Muscatine belongs on the public record. Kaine's staff also said the DNC had agreed to reimburse the state for the cost of his security detail. Payment should have been made at the start. Taxpayers should thank the GOP for raising the issue.

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At least Kaine has not vanished for several days, either hiking along the Appalachian Trail or meditating in Buenos Aries, or whatever. Virginians glady will leave such tales to their cousins in South Carolina (see below).