RICHMOND--Call it the "Tim and and Jerry" show. Like the old cartoon, "Tom and Jerry."

You remember the cartoon, right? Tom's the big gray house cat who can't ever catch Jerry, the little brown mouse.

Despite his lack of size, Jerry always outsmarted the famished feline.

In one of my favorite moments, Jerry once stuck his thumb in his mouth and blew his fist up to at least twice his body size so he could pop Tom in the noggin.

When I was a little kid, I tried this and was very disappointed to find it didn't work.

But if a modern-day Jerry would have attempted this on Wednesday, no one would have been surprised. Why? Because Tim--not Tom--was getting the best of him.

See, the "Jerry" I'm talking about is state Attorney General Jerry Kilgore. And "Tim"? Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine. They appeared at "AP Day at the Capital," an event put on by the Virginia Associated Press Managing Editors and the Society of Professional Journalists.

And though the joint appearance wasn't officially labeled a "debate," it looked like one, and Kaine came out from his corner--or, from his side of the aisle, really--swinging.

BEGIN JONATHAN'S DISCLAIMER: Before I go any further, let me mention this: I know many of you still have the presidential election on the brain. If you're a Republican, you're still celebrating. If you're a Democrat, you're still mad.

But in Virginia, as most of you probably know, we have elections every year. Next year that means we have a gubernatorial contest, and Kilgore is the likely GOP nominee; Kaine, the likely Dem choice.

So this is just a preview. It's not a test; you don't have to remember anything because you'll hear plenty more before November 2005. It's more like a movie trailer, letting you know what you'll see in the coming weeks and months. END OF JONATHAN'S DISCLAIMER.

Anyway, Kaine hit Kilgore hard. On an eavesdropping scandal. On Kilgore's stand on taxing and money matters. Even on the format of the debate: Apparently, Kilgore's folks said their man wouldn't show if the format allowed the politicos to ask each other questions. He wanted to take inquiries only from the moderator, University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato, or from the audience of journalists.