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Hillary Clinton offers grown-up view of politics as she picks Tim Kaine to help defeat Donald Trump
His admirers describe him as likeable if not charismatic.
Tim Kaine, a senator and former governor of Virgina selected as Hillary Clinton's running mate, goes further: “I'm boring,” he once said in a TV interview.
If the past week in Cleveland brought more of Donald Trump's unconventional campaign – convention floor slanging matches, a public trial of Mrs Clinton and a plagiarism row – the Democrats are preparing an alternative, grown-up vision of safe hands and experience at they gather in Philadelphia.
It began with Mrs Clinton announcing Mr Kaine, 58, as her vice-presidential pick.
The choice was immediately greeted as a sign that Mrs Clinton was looking beyond the election and a running mate to excite the base. Instead she had opted for a seasoned operator who could step in as commander-in-chief if ever needed.
They appeared together before a rapturous student audience in Miami on Saturday where Mrs Clinton contrasted his experience with that of Mr Trump's vice-presidential pick.
“I have to say, Senator Tim Kaine is everything that Donald Trump and Mike Pence are not,” she said.
She also gave a hint of the chemistry between the pair.
“He is a person who likes to get things done,” she said with a smile. “That's just my kind of guy, Tim.”
For his part, Mr Kaine introduced himself by talking movingly of learning that 32 people had been shot dead at Virginia Tech during his time as state governor in 2007 and his subsequent stance on gun control.
"I like to fight for right," he said.
Although they both spelled out his progressive credentials, the choice risks divisions at next week's convention with liberals accusing Mrs Clinton of failing to inspire voters by picking a VP from the party mainstream.
They said Mrs Clinton was trying to win the election by simply not being Donald Trump.
“The mood of the country is a populist one,” said Stephanie Taylor, of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, as she warned that Mr Kaine's support of free trade policies was out of step with the times.
Therein lies the dilemma for Democrat strategists: should they stick to safe choices and let team Trump implode or push a more radical vision to guard against complacency and a low turnout among voters?
Mrs Clinton's team had also vetted Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator popular with the Left of the party, and Cory Booker, a charismatic African-American senator from New Jersey. Either would have bolstered support among vital constituencies.
Mr Kaine does bring campaign advantages too. His Spanish language skills will secure Latino support, and he could help swing the crucial state of Virginia, which he serves as senator.
But above all, the sense is that Mrs Clinton has picked someone for when the election is won - a vice-president with whom she knows she can work.
He shares her background as an Ivy League-educated lawyer and brings a reputation as a consensus builder at a time of partisan politics.
The Trump campaign wasted no time in deploying one of their famous nicknames, pointing out that Mr Kaine had received more than $160,000 in gifts while governor and lieutenant governor of Virginia.
“'If you think Crooked Hillary and Corrupt Kaine are going to change anything in Washington, it's just the opposite,” said a spokesman. “They do well by the current system, while the rest of America gets left behind."
The announcement, late on Friday evening, was delayed as details emerged of a gun attack in Munich that killed nine people. However, the timing – at the end of the Republican National Convention – was designed to shift focus from Donald Trump back to Democrats as they gather for their own convention in Philadelphia, where Mrs Clinton will become the party's official presidential candidate.
It is also her chance to unite a party that was split by Bernie Sanders' socialist push for the nomination and to excite supporters as they start a long, hot summer of campaigning.
Mrs Clinton has attracted a string of highly-rated celebrities to celebrate her tilt at becoming the first female president in American history. They include Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Alicia Keys from the world of music, and television stars Lena Dunham and America Ferrara.
In contrast, Mr Trump's roster of stars in Cleveland was rather more modest. They included Scott Baio, who starred in the 80s sitcom Charles in Charge, and Willie Robertson, who features in the reality show Duck Dynasty.
Many senior Republicans – including the entire Bush family – stayed away rather than risk association with the Trump takeover.
Mr Trump's four-day convention was also hit by a number of missteps, including a plagiarism row over his wife Melania's speech, Ted Cruz's refusal to endorse his candidacy and a general air of chaos.
But then his has never been a conventional political campaign, and his backers say they expect a bump in Mr Trump's polling numbers as his convention speech, which portrayed the candidate as a president who could save America from crime, terrorism and decay, hit home around the country.
Paul Manafort, Mr Trump's most senior adviser, said: “The speeches have all been well-received and that's the bottom line: People are hearing the message.”
Democrats will now be hoping that their rather more conventional – or staid, depending on your point of view - convention can generate as many headlines and as much coverage.