Get the Party Started

"He sings better than I expected," she said.

Earlier Saturday, Kaine spoke at his inauguration of an inclusive Virginia, one that would build on "courage, opportunity and community" and understand the need for "reconciliation and brotherhood."

It was difficult to envision just how this will unfold for Kaine, who will have to contend with a Republican majority in the General Assembly. His speech spoke of bipartisanship, but the reality is that Republicans were holding their own inaugural celebrations for Lt. Gov. William Bolling in Richmond this weekend.

Still, Kaine showed his supporters that he knows how to enjoy the moment. That was especially true Friday night when the opening celebration included a concert headlined by the Beach Boys in Kaplan Arena. There were Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry reenactors belting out "Barbara Ann" onstage with the Beach Boys, a black male gospel choir, a group of young'un rappers and a bluegrass group, No Speed Limit, which Kaine loves.

By the end of the night, Kaine, 47, was also on that stage lined up like everyone else singing, "Barbarbarbarbarbarbra Ann, Barbara Annnn." So were his wife and young daughter, who had staked out their own territory and were singing and hopping around hand in hand, alternating between joyful abandon and halfway successful efforts to coordinate their movements.

It was a night of hopeful inclusion. Virginia, after all, was once the home of the Confederacy. A place that was once a Democratic stronghold when Democrat meant segregation and racist terror. The Virginia of this governor -- who delivered part of his inaugural speech in Spanish -- is one of broad diversity. And his party reflected that. It had black rappers, gospel singers and the Constituents, who spiced up everything from pop to R&B with a Latin beat.

The night blended old, old, old Virginia with the present when "Jefferson" and "Henry" delivered inspiring words about the "Promise of Virginia." And in case you might have forgotten this was what the night was all about, the words were scripted on the mega-tron screens hanging on each side of the stage.

Can Kaine really do it? Kathy Ford, who lives in Williamsburg and works for a cosmetics company and who grew up to Beach Boys tunes, was sure of the answer by the time she was leaving the concert.

"I definitely do [think so], especially after tonight!" said Ford. "There was so much enthusiasm."

Maybe, one person after another said, Kaine would be able to build on what Warner had started: economic development and pushing Virginia's schools forward and getting closer to solving the transportation problems of the state.

Twenty-year-olds Ben Boone and Meg Eason danced in the aisles. They love the classics and came back early from winter break to be at the concert. They are both juniors at William & Mary, and both voted for Kaine, too. They both liked Kaine's platform, especially on higher education, said Eason, a pre-med student. "I think he's going to build off the stuff that Warner had accomplished," said Boone, who's majoring in Latin American studies.

But Virginia still seems to be a place where being a Democrat remains somewhat of an oddity. There are those like Ford, who said she votes for the man, not the party. But she voted for Warner and Kaine. "I believe he's a genuine man," she said.