WASHINGTON 鈥� Sen. Tim Kaine, of Virginia, told 草莓传媒 on Thursday that being part of the losing ticket in the presidential election earlier this month was 鈥渢ough,鈥� but the cure was diving back into work.
The Democratic nominee for vice president, Kaine said that although most people were surprised by his and presidential candidate Hillary , he 鈥渘ever really believed the polls鈥� that showed Clinton cruising to victory.
He recalled telling Clinton in 2014, 鈥渋f you run, you鈥檙e gonna be the underdog no matter what the polls say, because you鈥檙e trying to the first woman president in the history of the country. If it had been easy, there would have been a woman president before this.鈥�
Still, although Kaine said he had done a good job 鈥渉olding my expectations down鈥� for most of the campaign, there was a narrow window 鈥� what he termed 鈥渁 head fake鈥� 鈥� where he thought things were going well.
Kaine said he kept an eye on the on election night, particularly the Chesterfield County results, which he said had acted as a bellwether in the past. About 45 minutes after the polls closed, Kaine said, it looked like they would win Virginia by a larger margin than President Barack Obama had won the state in 2012.
鈥淪o from about 7:45 to about 9:30, I let myself feel good,鈥� Kaine said.
But as the Midwestern states came in, the results didn鈥檛 look so good. 鈥淏y about 9:30 or 10, I was like, 鈥業鈥檓 not sure this is gonna work out.鈥欌��
The best consolation, Kaine said, was that 鈥淚鈥檝e got work to go back to. If you鈥檙e down about something, throw yourself into your work.鈥�
SINCE RETURNING TO CAPITOL HILL, Kaine has worked on the defense authorization bill, as well as a bill with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., another unsuccessful presidential candidate, to combat anti-Semitism in Europe.
It 鈥渨ill help the State Department and Europeans work together to combat anti-Semitism and protect religious freedom for Jews and society at large,鈥� Kaine said in a statement.
Kaine said his colleagues of both parties 鈥渃ouldn鈥檛 be more gracious鈥� in their dealings with him since his return, even if at least one had a laugh at the same time. Deb Fischer, a Republican from Nebraska, told him, 鈥淲e鈥檙e glad you鈥檙e back, for a number of reasons,鈥� Kaine said.
John McCain, a Republican from Arizona, who lost the 2008 presidential election to Obama, told him 鈥淭im, there are very few people who understand what you鈥檙e feeling right now, but I understand,鈥� Kaine recalled.
鈥淚 have very strong relationships in the Senate, with both Democrats and Republicans,鈥� he added. 鈥淏ecause you can disagree with people and still get along with them, and I work very hard to do that. And they鈥檝e been very gracious.鈥�
Kaine is also back to working on an issue that鈥檚 been important to him in the past: demanding a congressional vote on a declaration of war against ISIL. He鈥檚 previously said Congress lacks 鈥渢he backbone to do their job鈥� on the issue, preferring to await the results of any conflict before declaring whether they were in favor.
鈥淚鈥檝e been willing to be tough on this administration and Congress,鈥� he said. “We have been at war for two and a half years now with ISIS with no vote of Congress. Congress has been afraid to go on the board.鈥�
On Wednesday, Kaine gave his first post-election floor speech to honor of Chief Petty Officer , of Woodbridge, who on Thanksgiving Day became the first American serviceman to die in Syria. But Kaine also called on Congress to act.
鈥淲e ought to be defining what the mission is against ISIS and other terrorist organizations, and have Congress say yea or nay,鈥� he said on Thursday. 鈥淏ecause we shouldn鈥檛 order people to risk their lives if Congress isn鈥檛 even willing to have a debate or a vote.鈥�
