Barack Obama’s campaign has announced that the Democratic nominee will unveil his Veep pick this week. No one outside Obama’s inner circle knows for sure who the pick will be, but all signs point to a small number of possible picks. Virginia Governor Tim Kaine has been mentioned, as has Indiana Senator Evan Bayh. But do their pro-coal stances undercut Obama’s commitments on climate change?

Kaine supported a new coal-burning power plant in Wise County, Virginia, and hasn’t backed away from his support. Bayh, Indiana’s junior senator, has stiff resistance from antiwar advocates after his 2003 vote authorizing the Iraq war, enough opposition that a Facebook group was started to reverse draft him from Obama's short list.  How’s Bayh on coal? Not much better than Kaine. Here’s a 2006 quote from the senator applauding the IRS’s decision to award a tax credit to Duke Energy for a new Indiana coal plant.

"The most effective way to ensure that Hoosiers will continue to have access to clean, affordable energy is to invest in new technologies that use our own resources like coal, which is abundant in Indiana," Senator Bayh said. "This tax credit will add gasified coal power to other sources of homegrown energy, like biodiesel and ethanol, that provide good jobs for Hoosier workers while protecting America's air and water."  

I’m confident that there are other possibilities for Veep that haven’t been touted in public yet. Kaine and Bayh, however, are sure to raise the hackles of those who want firm commitments from Obama on coal and climate. Selecting either would make it difficult for Vice President Al Gore to campaign for Obama as well. After all, Gore famously called for a moratorium on the production of new coal plants. Stay tuned.

--DJK