From the beginning of March till the end of June, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine spent parts of 31 days outside Virginia in his capacity as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Kaine’s travel on behalf of the DNC was catalogued in a response by the Virginia State Police to a Freedom of Information Act request by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

He didn’t ask for this job. The job of chairman of the Democratic National Committee, that is. Now that he has it, six months later, even an outsider might understand why Gov. Timothy M. Kaine was somewhat reluctant to take it in the first place. He has been dogged by state Republican leaders, eager to find an opening in a pivotal state election year to reverse the tide of political success that has given Virginia Democrats control of the governor’s office, two U.S. Senate seats, the state’s House of Representatives delegation and the state Senate.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, who recently has been criticized by state Republican leaders for his out-of-town trips as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, says his security detail on those trips cost less than $10,000 in his first six months in the post. Kaine said he has kept records of the security expenditures and has instructed the DNC to reimburse the commonwealth for the costs.

On monthly radio show, Kaine, chairman of Democratic National Committee, declines to criticize Republican Gov. Mark Sanford, who yesterday admitted sneaking to Argentina to meet woman with whom he was having an affair.

If you want to know where Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine is, just ask him. That’s the message Kaine delivered yesterday to state Republican critics who say he has been sneaking off to tend to his high-profile, part-time job as chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

The Republican Party of Virginia yesterday requested under the Freedom of Information Act records of Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s out-of-state travels and state expenditures related to his work as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Lynda Tran, a spokeswoman for Kaine, said the office will respond to the FOIA request the same way it treats all FOIA requests.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine put on his hat as Democratic National Committee chairman to defend the Obama administration in a Sunday-morning square-off with Republican counter part Michael Steele. During a joint interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,“ Kaine and Steele sparred over whether President Barack Obama, who supports abortion rights, should receive an honorary degree from the University of Notre Dame, an anti-abortion, Catholic institution, where he spoke yesterday.

Within sight of home base for his first day job, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine spent some time yesterday focusing on his second. The chairman of the Democratic National Committee joined the organization’s executive committee for its business meeting, held yesterday afternoon at the Omni Hotel in Richmond. He thanked them for their support and patience as he tries to tend to both tasks during a difficult time. “I am trying to juggle two pretty challenging jobs,“ he said. “It’s not an easy time to be a governor.“

“What he has done may be legal, but he is straddling the line to have taxpayers pay for partisan political activities.“—CAITLIN GINLEY, staff writer for The Center for Public Integrity, an independent group Rep. Eric I. Cantor, R-7th, has come under fire from a watchdog group and Democrats for using taxpayer-funded staff to work on a new policy organization he has set up.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s top lawyer is following the boss to the Democratic National Committee. Chief counsel Larry Roberts quits state government tomorrow to become an adviser to Kaine in his new job as chairman of the DNC. Roberts, joining a continuing exodus of senior staff from the Kaine administration, yesterday said that he will be a link between the chairmanship and the governor’s office.

President Barack Obama is enlisting Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee, to help make his case for the economic stimulus package via video. The president and Kaine appeared yesterday in separate videos e-mailed to Obama’s network of 13 million supporters developed through his presidential campaign.

Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine officially became the chairman of the Democratic National Committee yesterday, promising to continue the party’s fight for votes in Republican strongholds.

Soon after the November election, Gov. Tim Kaine turned down an invitation to serve as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He intended to remain a full-time governor, he said. Early in the new year, Barack Obama introduced Kaine as his personal choice to head the DNC. Kaine stood at his side and gladly accepted the role. The apparent about-face gave critics a chance to pounce. The state Republican apparatus went over the top, as usual. Our editorial congratulating Kaine on the position noted with amusement the earlier rejection.

President-elect Barack Obama introduced Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine as the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee yesterday, saying the two men share a “pragmatic progressive” political philosophy.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday that President-elect Barack Obama persuaded him to become chairman of the Democratic National Committee after Obama assured him it would not interfere with his job as Virginia’s governor. “As Americans found out on Nov. 4, he’s a pretty persuasive guy,“ Kaine said during a brief news conference at the Patrick Henry Building.