When President-elect Barack Obama named Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine to lead the DNC Thursday, Kaine promised he would use technology to continue reaching voters in new ways.

Apparently the DNC is already jumping on the opportunity offering Kaine up for an online question-and-answer session.

Obama just sent members of the DNC's email list this message detailing the idea and introducing his friend as Chairman Kaine:

Yesterday, I had the honor of introducing Virginia Governor Tim Kaine as the next Chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

We're in a strong position to build the Democratic Party, renew our commitment to the principles we share, and continue the outstanding work of Chairman Howard Dean.

Among his many achievements, Governor Dean launched a strategy to reach out to Americans in all 50 states -- north, south, east and west. This 50-state strategy helped Democrats compete in states where we hadn't in years, including states like Virginia.

Governor Kaine has seen the power of the 50-state strategy firsthand, and under his leadership, Democrats will continue to organize and compete in every corner of our country.

Share your question for incoming Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine -- he'll answer as many as possible in a video on Democrats.org.

Tim is the ideal leader to grow and strengthen this party -- not by appealing to our divisions, but by appealing to our common hopes; not by pursuing policies that advance a specific dogma, but by pursuing policies that work for ordinary people.

As Governor of Virginia, Tim was known for his intelligence, integrity, and strong economic leadership.

He has a record of putting public service above partisanship, and he knows that reaching across party lines is the way to achieve progress for all Americans.

Over the next few days, you'll have a unique opportunity to get to know Governor Kaine. You can submit a question online, and he'll answer as many as possible in a special video next week.

Learn more about the future of the Democratic Party by submitting your question to Governor Kaine:

http://www.democrats.org/welcomekaine

The success of our party in the years ahead depends on strong leadership, but it also depends on a committed membership determined to bring change.

Thank you for your hard work and please join me in welcoming Chairman Tim Kaine,

Barack

The e-mail includes a large red "Please donate" button at the bottom. It is only the second email that actually came from the president-elect since he won the White House Nov. 4.

His campaign sent a fundraising e-mail in his name earlier this week.

I had a story on today's front page about the Kaine appointment.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine accepted the reins at the Democratic National Committee on Thursday, vowing to expand recent Democratic successes and, despite being the party's top partisan, stress solutions, not ideology.

President-elect Barack Obama formally announced Thursday that he had chosen his friend Mr. Kaine for the chairman position, currently held by former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.

The Democratic president-elect said Mr. Kaine, who turns 50 next month, is uniquely qualified to "remake the Democratic Party to meet the challenges of the 21st century."

Each man spoke about a post-ideology vision, and Mr. Obama said they share a "pragmatic progressive philosophy."

Read the full story here.

— Christina Bellantoni, White House correspondent,
The Washington Times

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http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/bellantoni

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