(AP) WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama welcomed Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine Thursday as the new Democratic party chairman, while praising the work of outgoing leader Howard Dean.

Obama said Dean served his party and the nation as a "visionary and effective leader," and made Democrats competitive in states where they hadn’t competed in years.

But Dean wasn’t on hand for the president-elect’s visit to party headquarters, traveling instead in American Samoa. Democrats with knowledge of the situation said Dean, who clashed with Obama aides and Democratic leaders in Congress, had been asked by Obama advisers not to attend.

Obama described Kaine as someone who can bring people together.

Kaine says he’s looking forward to being a "passionate and positive promoter" of Obama’s agenda.