Kaine: Tough Is What Democrats Do

Democratic Party Chairman Tim Kaine just delivered a speech at the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelpha, seeking to "kick off" the 2010 midterm campaign season (having begun, unofficially, after Labor Day weekend)--a campaign season in which Democrats are projected to lose a handful of Senate seats and governor's races and between 30 and 45 House seats, perhaps yielding the majority to Republicans.

This is what Kaine had to say, closing his speech with a recognition that 2010 looks daunting: "You don't mind tough. Tough is what Democrats do," Kaine said. "We campaign tough, we win tough, we govern tough."

During the speech, Kaine sought to portray the midterms as a choice between Democratic and Republican governance--a theme for Democrats in this year, as they try to dissuade Americans from voting against Democratic rule in response to a high unemployment rate (currently at 9.6 percent) and out of general dissatisfaction with the federal government.

This year, in Kaine's words, isn't too different from the situation in which Democrats always find themselves as perennial election underdogs.

"We're always the underdog party, and we're always gonna be the underdog party," Kaine said, because Democrats are the party "speaking for everyday people."

Moments after Kaine left the stage in Philadelphia, the DNC sent an e-mail from the chairman to its supporters, with the subject line "We can beat them,"