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In the run-up to the big unveiling of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's choice for her vice-presidential running mate, I was asked whom I thought that person would be. There was no question in my mind that the former secretary of state would tap current senator from Virginia Tim Kaine.

Picking Kaine was a victory of long-term planning over short-term thinking. The latter would have seen Clinton prize a demographic niche above all else. I understand those demanding that she select "a Latino," "a true progressive," "an African American" or "another woman." But if said person doesn't have all the other tangibles and intangibles needed for a running mate, it would be a disservice to the ticket, especially if Clinton wins in November.

By being "afflicted with the responsibility gene," Clinton wanted to do more than check the box. For some funny reason she decided that she wanted someone who checked as many boxes as possible while also allowing her to demonstrate that she takes seriously the responsibility of governing an enterprise as vital as the United States.

Enter Kaine. Here are the key points:

Governing experience: Kaine was the mayor of Richmond. He was the lieutenant governor of Virginia. Then governor of Virginia. As a result, he knows how the machinery of government works. And as the chief executive of a then-red state, he knows how to work with Republicans to get things done.

Appeals to the base of the party: This election will be won or lost on votes from African Americans and Latinos. No doubt both constituencies are disappointed that one of their own didn't make the ticket. But in Kaine they get someone who is no stranger to them or issues important to them.

He was a missionary in Honduras who continues to speak fluent Spanish. He was a fair-housing lawyer at a small law firm that went on to win a big redlining discrimination lawsuit against Nationwide Insurance in 1998. That same year, Kaine's fellow city council members in Richmond elected him mayor of that 50 percent African American city. His Catholic church is predominantly black. He even sings in the choir.

No, Kaine is not black. He's not Hispanic. But he has enough flavor (as we used to say) to pass muster with them, which is made infinitely easier by Donald Trump's musings about building walls and banning Muslims from entering the country. And as an African American, I know he not only sees me and my family — he knows us. Don't underestimate the power of that feeling for people of color.

Has foreign-policy chops: Our world is so complex that it requires a president and a vice president who know its complexities and the players who contribute to it. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Senate Armed Services committees, Kaine understands the world as it is and how the United States fits into it. With Kaine, Clinton would get another foreign policy grown-up at the table.

And while Donald Trump talks a good game about taking out the Islamic State (he doesn't put it so delicately or diplomatically), Kaine is more serious about it. He has been trying to get Congress to fulfill its constitutional duties to give the president the authority to wage war on the Islamic State through a new Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF). But for all their huffing and puffing about our dangerous world and the role of the Islamic State in it, Trump's fellow Republicans in the House and Senate refuse to move on the AUMF request Obama sent them on Feb. 11, 2015, more than a year ago. Yeah, I'm talking about Speaker Paul Ryan, Wis., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Ky.

No loss of a Democratic Senate seat: Whenever there is a Senate vacancy, the sitting governor appoints a successor. If the Clinton-Kaine ticket prevails, Gov. Terry McAuliffe, D-Va., will appoint a replacement. With continued Republican control of the chamber in question this cycle, Democrats cannot afford to lose a seat. That's why I never took seriously all the talk about worthy contenders such as Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Cory Booker, D-N.J. They all hail from states with Republican governors who would flip a blue seat red.

Stability: Trump is erratic. His running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, is scarily conservative. By choosing Kaine, a pragmatic progressive with all the experience I talk about above, Clinton is trying to instill confidence among voters that her White House would be stable by comparison.

More than meets the eye: The rap on Kaine is that he's boring. That he lacks the charisma of other politicians. One of the pluses of Trump's selection of Pence is that he would neutralize all that charisma talk about Kaine.

But that was until Kaine took the stage in Miami on Saturday. What we saw was the opposite of boring. What we saw was an energetic and charismatic candidate who was as comfortable trilling off perfect Spanish as he was hurling zingers at the opposition to buck up the boss.

In his life story and performance on stage with Clinton, Kaine showed the doubters that, with him, there is more than meets the eye.

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Capehart is a member of the Post editorial board and writes about politics and social issues for the PostPartisan blog.