Speculation that Jim Webb will be Barack Obama's running mate has exploded over the last couple days. The most impressive (and brutally thorough) coverage was in the Wall Street Journal.
Wall Street Journal: The Case for Webb as Obama's Running Mate
Sen. Webb is not a safe pick. His views on women in the military could cost Sen. Obama among Clinton voters, and some Hispanics might worry about his views on affirmative action. But an Obama-Webb ticket has the potential to bring home those who left the party for Ronald Reagan and George Wallace, bridging the gap between African Americans and working class whites.
Danville Opinion: Tangled up with Webb?
Even if Webb isn't Obama's choice for vice president, the fact that he's being talked about shows how far he's come in two years.
LA Times: Jim Webb, Hollywood's latest military man
Iraq war opponent Webb, who served as secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan, will speak at a UCLA rally Sunday afternoon to support a new GI bill for returning troops, fueling speculation in the entertainment industry that he could be Sen. Barack Obama's vice presidential nominee. (And Hollywood loves to have a say in such matters.)
I still don't see Webb ending up as the VP. My 2 dark horses are Air Force Ret. Gen. Gration and Gov Ritter of CO.
I am so proud of the great job Jim Webb is doing in the Senate, and I really want him there for years to come, keeping up the good work.
I have no idea whether or not Wes Clark is being considered for the V.P slot in the real, under-the-radar process. But, in my opinion, he certainly should be on the short list for the job.
Webb's journey, his growth, from post-60's culture warrior to where he is today, is exactly why he should be Obama's VP. As does the half-white, half-black Obama, Webb personifies a healed, forward looking whole greater than its seemingly antagonistic halves.
As for this continued and perhaps purposeful sliming of Jim Webb, with his 100% NARAL rating, being against yada yada women's rights or his alleged "views on women", it's only the misinformed or ideologically rigid who buy that.
What Jim Webb wrote nearly thirty years ago was true then, is true today and will continue to be true long into the future. He was speaking as a Marine infantry officer and veteran of bloody, intense combat when he said women could not lead men in combat. Yes, women now command combat ships, though there is zero probability of them actually engaging in blue water combat, and topnotch women pilots now fly combat aircraft over the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, though there is zero chance of them being engaged in aerial combat and the chances of them being shot down are exceedingly slim.
But women combat infantry officers, which is what Webb was really writing about in 1979, will be leading men into battle at the same time that they will be playing in the NFL and running coed 100 meter dashes. That's just a physical fact-of-life. And anyone who continues to confuse that fact with what might seem to be the equal opportunity goals of political correctness is, as they say these days, smoking crack.
Bedrock granite Republican paper that it is, on the face of it, it's a peculiar source of support for a prospective Democratic running mate. It may have something to do with his history with them as a guest columnist. And since their editorial board knows him well, the WSJ's endorsement carries more weight than most.
THE WALL STREET JOURNALPAGE ONE
Arming Obama
Sen. Jim Webb -- Vietnam Vet, 'Redneck' -- Is Emerging As the Democrats' Military Point Man; The 'VP!' Chant
By MONICA LANGLEY
June 21, 2008; Page A1
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With his two Purple Hearts, three tattoos and spoiling-for-a-fight attitude, Sen. Jim Webb is emerging as the Democrats' point man on two of the most profound matters facing the electorate this November: national defense and the military.
A highly decorated war veteran who opposes the Iraq war, Sen. Webb is considered by many Democrats to be the best person to go into battle against another war hero, expected Republican nominee Sen. John McCain. The ex-Marine, who hails from the important swing state of Virginia, could also become Sen. Barack Obama's go-to person on national security, where the Democratic presidential candidate's résumé is weak compared with rival Sen. McCain's.
His rising star has been enhanced by the expected passage of a GI bill he championed, which provides money for veterans to go to college, and which President Bush recently accepted despite his earlier veto threat. All that makes Sen. Webb one of the most talked-about possible vice-presidential contenders. ...
It's nonsense to say as the WSJ article does, that Webb will have trouble with the left and liberals of this country. He was and is the darling of the netroots DailyKos types and anti-war activists alike. There is nothing we liberals like better than a former Republican-turned-Democrat. Why shouldn't we? It enforces our belief that change and redemption IS possible--the word is PROGRESSive, after all, isn't it?
I think most of us would also agree that anyone who hasn't lived through combat should STFU--including ourselves. We might sympathize and try to understand, but the thing is, we don't. We can't. I'm sure Webb struggles with demons every day of his life; and yet he has truly made something of his life and triumped spectacularly over death and misery. Good God, what is more inspiring than that? And the writer thinks THIS is a problem?
IMHO, just about everything the WSJ author mentions as a weakness for Webb is really a strength--particularly the less-than-politically-correct opinions he has expressed in years past. Christ, even that weird gun snafu he had at the Capitol probably helped him, as much as I hate to admit it. As I've said, he is weak where Obama is strong (campaigning and fundraising) and strong where Obama is weak. Sounds like a match made in heaven to me.
Still not sure I'm ready to lose Webb as a Senator, though. I'm thinking there are other candidates whom we don't know about that Obama is seriously considering. I'm hoping this person has at least some of the attributes of Webb. Meanwhile, it's fun to speculate, isn't it?
It's nonsense to say ... that Webb will have trouble with the left and liberals of this country. ... There is nothing we liberals like better than a former Republican-turned-Democrat. Why shouldn't we? It enforces our belief that change and redemption IS possible--the word is PROGRESSive, after all, isn't it?
This is the nub of the Clintonista feminista case against Webb in questioning his bonafides as a progressive and a Democrat.
Seems to me that the real problem is with those who claim to be progressive and Democrat who apparently don't believe in change and redemption.
RALPH NADER: ... Senator Jim Webb, Senator Chuck Hagel, they think for themselves. They're not robotic minds. They're not completely monetized minds. And they're Vietnam veterans. So, in today's politics, that puts them forward.