Tim Kaine makes his earnest late-night debut on Colbert's Late Show

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) knew that he was Hillary Clinton's running mate for only about 12 minutes before the world found out, he told Stephen Colbert on Thursday's Late Show, in Kaine's late-night TV debut. And it's not clear how his wife felt when he told her the big news. Kaine said that joining a presidential campaign a few months before the election is the way to go, and when Colbert asked in mock-hushed tones about Clinton's health, Kaine said, "I think she could beat me in the New York marathon, if we entered."

"I'm gonna test you here," Colbert said. Clinton "said she wanted a running mate who was willing to disagree with her. So please your new boss, right now, and say something that you disagree with Hillary Clinton on." "You think I'm new at this?" Kaine said — they had just discussed his rise from Jesuit missionary to city councilman to governor and senator, and Kaine drew on that experience for a pretty good answer.

If Joe Biden is America's ebullient uncle, Tim Kaine would be its earnest step dad, as The Washington Post put it, or maybe its soccer dad, as Twitter opined. "Are you okay with not being cool?" Colbert asked. "I've been prepared for that for 26 years," Kaine said, "because I have three children who have been ripping on me and saying those things about me since they were born." So, in his late-night debut, we learned that Tim Kaine plays harmonica, is discreet, can talk policy, has memorized part of the New Testament, and is a very gentle attack dog. Watch below. Peter Weber

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up