Op-ed Spotlight: Ex-Virginia Governor Urges Obama to Start Firing

Tim Kaine, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is tops on his list

Former Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder starts off politely in his Politico op-ed, but then after a 200-word complimentary preamble he starts calling for heads to roll in the Obama administration. Wilder, the nation's first black governor, puts a bullseye on DNC Chairman Tim Kaine's back, blaming him for Democrats' troubles in elections in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia. While calling Wilder a friend, he even scripts the Republican attack against him.

On Whether Obama's Changed Things for the Better

Unfortunately, the answer so far is clear: not yet.

On Administration Competence

Getting elected and getting things done for the people are two different jobs.

On DNC Chairman Tim Kaine

A spate of recent losses in races that Democrats should have won underscores what has been obvious to me for a long time: The chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee is the wrong job for him.

On the Case Republicans Would Make Against Kaine

"Republicans are surely going to remind voters, nationwide, that Chairman Kaine tried to balance his budget in his last days as governor by proposing a $1 billion-plus personal income tax increase ... Kaine's recommendation to the Justice Department to transfer one of Virginia's inmates to a federal jurisdiction, and ultimately to Germany, for possible parole in two years was almost immediately withdrawn"

On 'Chicago Connections' and Nepotism

Obama's West Wing is filled with people who are in their jobs because of their Chicago connections or because they signed on with Obama early during his presidential campaign.

On Biblical Firing Advice

The president should keep uppermost in his mind the biblical admonition as to what happens to those trees that do not bear "good fruit": The ax is already at the tree.