The Candidate Offers Words to Waffle By

As the only state other than New Jersey that will elect a governor this year, Virginia is being watched by the nation's politicians and pundits as a testing ground for Democrats' latest strategy: courting Republican voters by embracing religion while assuring Democrats that such convictions don't matter. This is a peculiar position, as the gubernatorial candidacy of Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine (D) demonstrates.

For instance, Kaine says that his Catholic faith leads him to oppose both abortion and the death penalty but that he would not, as governor, try to thwart either practice. Why not?

Kaine's opposition to the death penalty dates from his days as a law student. What sort of person spends his adult life campaigning against the death penalty, but -- if given the power to commute death sentences -- would decline to use it?

Either Kaine's beliefs are not strongly held, or he is being disingenuous. If the latter, Virginians have been down this road before.

Recall that in 2001, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Warner ran on a platform not to raise taxes. Yet once elected, Warner proposed the largest tax increase in Virginia history. Candidate Warner supported a referendum on the sales tax in Northern Virginia; Gov. Warner characterized referendums as "extremely irresponsible."

Warner wasn't even true to his base. As a candidate, he pledged to "fight further efforts to chip away at [abortion] rights." As governor, he signed legislation that banned partial-birth abortions and required parental consent before minors could undergo the procedure.

Is Kaine borrowing from Warner's playbook? Consider these unsettling indications:

· As Richmond's mayor, Kaine got into hot water for spending $6,500 of city funds to send a delegation to the District for the Million Mom March -- which essentially was a rally for gun control. As a gubernatorial candidate, he says on his Web site that he "strongly" supports the Second Amendment and "would introduce no new gun laws as governor."

· As lieutenant governor, Kaine supported raising the sales tax, capping the car-tax rebate, increasing state taxes by $1.4 billion and increasing the gas tax. Now he says that, if elected governor, he would push for tax relief.