The Candidates
I’ve gone on record several times as saying Sam Nunn and Jim Webb are the obvious top two choices for Obama’s Veep pick this year. And now, as Marc Ambinder and Political Wire are reporting, Jim Webb has just released a book that might vault him into the top spot on Barack’s short list.
The book is called A Time to Fight: Reclaiming a Fair and Just America and “presents a clear-eyed, hard-hitting plan of attack for putting government to work for the people, rather than special interests, and for restoring the country’s standing around the world.”
According to Ambinder, “it takes some potshots at the Democratic establishment… Webb writes about martial values and military service, but his main subject is what he terms the “forgotten” working class. He blends history and contemporary observations and sketches out the policies that would work toward the end of reclaiming America for average joes and janes.”
Sounds like a perfect match for Obama’s message. Also perfect is Webb’s military credentials, which are impecable: graduated from Annapolis, served as a first Lieutenant and a platoon commander in Vietnam, earning a silver star, two bronze stars, and two purple hearts - along with a Navy Cross. He advances Obama’s message of bipartisanship, having served under Reagan and endorsing George Allen in 2000 before running against him in 2006. And he can help Obama connect with white, working class folks in red states. And his trump card - he’s got a son currently serving in Iraq.
As Ambinder sums up,
“here’s a guy who can go toe-to-toe with John McCain on national security, is beloved by white working class voters, puts Virginia into play instantly, and has a charming way with the media.”
May 14th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
I too was an early predictor of this ticket for the very reasons stated (plus he is a tough SOB), but Webb is not a good campaigner and has some quirks. That whole taking a gun into Congress thing was weird. I think Obama has a shot at VA even without Webb so I am now inclinded Obama is going with an economic pick with a rustbelt gov like Strickland.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Webb has been my guess for about a month. Hard to see a downside.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
I still say the nder-the-radar ticket to watch for is Obama-Mabus. Former Gov./Ambassador Ray Mabus (D-Mississippi)) is already Obama’s top Middle East Advisor, and he’s currently touring Oregon on Obama’s behalf (see video below). This guy reeks of gravitas, and he’s the guy Obama is sending to close the deal in Oregon. I would not be the least bit suprised to see him continue to be used in that role as a VP candidate.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=semXNjQRFMg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Mabus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Mabus
May 14th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
The book is called A Time to Fight: Reclaiming a Fair and Just America and “presents a clear-eyed, hard-hitting plan of attack for putting government to work for the people, rather than special interests, and for restoring the country’s standing around the world.â€
I love how “special interests” are somehow always at odds with “the people”.
As if “special interests” have no relevance to public policy that affects peoples’ lives, or as if “special interests” can all be lumped under one big umbrella.
One of the better moments of the Clinton campaign was when she defended the role of lobbyists. They’re not just the caricatures that the media make them out to be.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
I can see a lot of downside to Webb: he’s a little crazy, rubs folks the wrong way, and has low approval ratings in his home state. Despite his military experience, he mostly been writing books for the past 20 years and has been a Senator for less time than Obama.
If he wants someone with military creds, he should choose Wes Clark. If he wants to make inroads in VA, he should choose Kaine.
The smarter road would be to choose Gov. Sebelius to smooth things over with female voters.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Alex (#3) — completely and wholeheartedly agreed. Someone ought to show the voters the numerous “special interests” and lobbyists that fight for the causes of “the people”.
Of course, this is all the Democrats run on - nice platitudes and 30-second bumper sticker soundbites. Unfortunately, a lot of America buys it hook, line, and sinker.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
This wouldn’t surprise me at all. I’ve been on the record for well over a year that Jim Webb would be an ideal pick for either Hillary or Obama (Dave even speculated on a Gore/Webb ticket, IIRC). Personally, I like a lot and I think adding him to the ticket would go a long way towards helping Obama in Appalachia.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Actually, “special interests” are by and large NOT benefiting the people. That’s the point.
The problem is that “special interests” are too often confused with “interest groups”
May 14th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Maybe I’m hthe odd man out her, but Webb doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Since being in the Senate, he’s established himself as a rude, unlikeable individual. And his extreme hatred of Bush would cement the image of the Obama ticket as hard-line leftist venture. Plus, Webb’s mouth would get him in major trouble on the campaign trail. The guy is only in the Senate because of the “macaca” debacle, an he embarasses himself on a regular basis. Oh…and wasn’t Webb the guy who got busted for having his bodyguards bring a loaded handgun into the capital? Not VP material in my opinion.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
I am really afraid of Obama/Webb. Webb is Scotch-Irish and working class, and could help bring in the Appalachian voters that have been fleeing towards Hillary.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Is Webb pro-life?
May 14th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Palin for VP - thanks for sharing the info about Gov. Mabus. Frankly (and unbelievably) I had never heard of the guy. Pretty impressive resume and he seems to fit perfectly with Obama.
As an aside, the dems have a long bench. Another guy I had not heard of was the gov of Oregon and even though I heard of him before I think the current gov of Tennessee is impressive. In the category of successful white southern male, Obama has quite a selection.
May 14th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I agree with Palin for VP! in #9. Even though Webb use to be a Republican, he is a hyper-partisan Democrat now. Choosing him would hurt Obama’s desire to be viewed as a new breed of post-partisan, independent politician.
May 14th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Webb is not pro-life.
May 14th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
There certainly are quite a few Southern white males available for the #2 slot to Obama.
As I wrote that sentence I had to ask myself why does Obama have to pick a white guy - because he’s black? Shouldn’t he pick the best possible individual regardless or race and sex? Isn’t this the argument we have made against Watts, Palin, Jindal, et. al as the #2 for McCain?
I might have made any sense in that middle paragraph, but the question makes sense to me in my brain right now.
May 14th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
“Palin for VP - thanks for sharing the info about Gov. Mabus. Frankly (and unbelievably) I had never heard of the guy”
Nobody seems to have heard of him (including me until the last fe months)…which worries me considering his high placement in the Obama campaign and his perdonal charisma. If he’s not VP, he’ll definitely be in the cabinet or some other top advisory position should Obama win. But if I were Obama’s campaign manager (heaven forbid) Mbus is the guy I would tell him to pick.
And since I’ve trashed Webb…I might as well comment on the other names that are coming up who I think WOULD do Obama some good: Richardson and Sebelius. Both are popular, have a lot of experience, and have appeal to democraphics that Obama has to hold on to win. But they’re low-key enough to add a few notes of subtrlety to Obama’s high-wattage personality.
May 14th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Ryan #15,
Nobody is saying that Obama has to pick a white male. In fact, I think he could do well with a female (Sebelius) or hispanic (Richardson) VP. That said, appealing to Southern swing-voters could be a key to Obama’s campaign, as his power base will be in the North and Obama tends not to poll well in Appalachia and other regions where are more of the blue-colla, unionized variety. This is why clinton won WV, IN, PA, etc. That problem will extend to the rest of the South in the general election, when the African-American vote will not constitute a majority of the Southern electorate. Hence, having a candidate who knows how to work Southern voters could be key if Obama wants to pick off some erstwhile red states like Arkansas or Virginia. That’s why a lot of us are throwing around names like Mabus, Webb, etc. They fill in Obama’s weeknesses perfectly and could help him in areas where he is having trouble.
May 14th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Webb might help Obama with military cred. The women that the liberal Democrats kicked to the curb are still going to be pissed off though because Webb is kind of a chauvanist. The GOP would be wise to exploit that if Webb is chosen for VP, especially considering the millions of scorned HilWomen.
May 14th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Nunn is much better then webb. webb is a rude hot head who’s own numbers are tanking in virginia. he is the one guy more overhyped then obama. he exists because george allen ran a bad campaign and the media targeted allen ruthlessly, and he won by 1/2 percent. sam nunn would sure up the foreign policy and establishment credentials, without any of webb’s downsides (temper, conservatisim, no experience).
May 14th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Webb’s latest approval ratings in VA were 47 approve/41 disapprove, so they’re not fantastic but they’re not as horrible as some make them out to be.
May 14th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Is it just me, or does a grand total of 6 years in the senate and 1 year as Secretary of Navy, for the entire ticket, underwhelm? I mean, I know this is a change election, and I know Americans are hankering for new politics, but…really? Obama is the least experienced presidential nominee since Jimmy Carter and before him Woodrow Wilson; I don’t quite understand this notion that Obama can reasonably pick fellows like Webb or Clark who, despite having some peripheral experience, have almost no political experience. Obama/Webb would be the least experienced ticket in history.
May 14th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
The scariest ticket of all would be:
Obama / Bayh
May 14th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
“The scariest ticket of all would be:
Obama / Bayh”
Maybe, but that won’t happen due to Bayh’s close association with Hillary.
May 14th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Webb doesn’t put Virginia in play for Obama. The one guy that would is Mark Warner, who adds more moderation cred than Webb would anyway. Webb isn’t just a little bit crazy, BTW. Bring him on.
May 14th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Bayh is just so dull and he’s been in Washington awhile (his own prez campaign also fizzled before it started). No, I think Obama will go outside Washington with a conservative dem who is or was a governor.
May 14th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Still… is Obama so sure that the public is ready for change that they will embrace a ticket with less than six years US Senate experience between them? Seems like a huge gamble to me. Plus, Webb’s military resume may stack up favorably to McCain’s, but it OBAMA that is going “toe to toe”with McCain, not Webb.
And, re #25, yeah Bayh has been in Washington for a long time, but the man is pretty much invisible so I don’t think he would undermine the change!(tm) message. Plus, unlike Webb and most of the other candidates being considered for the #2 spot he has executive experience as Governor of Indiana.
May 14th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Palin for VP, with all due respect, Ray Mabus lost his reelection bid for MS governor to a
Republican, was an ambassador to the Saudi’s for a brief period and has nothing to show for it.
If he is Obama’s middle east expert, the USA is in big trouble.
May 14th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
While we’re on VP’s, is anyone else surprised that Mark Sanford is getting shellacked on that CQ politics bracket poll by Mike Huckabee? Something very strange is going on over there. At this pace, Huck looks like the winner of the whole thing, which is horrifying assuming that this is a relatively broad swath of online GOP’ers. And mystifying. The only Republican who was LESS well-liked then John McCain in online circles was Mike Huckabee.