Hmmmmm.....Good Timing for Jim Webb

[NYCGirl]

From Ambinder:

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/good_timing_for_jim_webb.php

How 'bout that? Sen. Jim Webb's new book will be released on May 15, just as reporters like me start to speculate about his chances of becoming Sen. Barack Obama's vice presidential nominee.

"A Time To Fight: Reclaiming a Just And Fair America" is Webb's most explicitly political to date, and it takes some potshots at the Democratic establishment. (Newsy!) 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. The timing, again, is impeccable: right when Obama is starting to look around, ah, 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.

[mystieus]

1. He has been in the Senate even less than Obama..

[NYCGirl]

3. But it isn't his Senate experience that's important. It's his extensive military

background.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Webb

U.S. Naval Academy, Webb served as a Marine Corps infantry officer until 1972, and is a highly decorated Vietnam War combat veteran. During his four years with the Reagan administration, Webb served as the first Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, then as Secretary of the Navy.

[Goodnevil]

8. Yes, but does he own a sword?

[NYCGirl]

9. If that makes you happy. NT

[Goodnevil]

20. Well, it does make me happy

It's time our VP's came with martial weapons and kung-fu grips.

[Mz Pip]

10. I'm sure

we can find him one, if necessary.

[mod mom]

5. He brings military experience, is from Virginia (swing state) is a former Republican,

and has children serving in Iraq.

Not to mention he issued common sense over *'s Iran policy! Think: Kyl Lieberman

[JuniperLea]

6. His military experience would be very helpful to us

On oh, so many levels.

[woolldog]

16. his senate service isn't his draw. it's more like the icing on the cake

he's been a soldier, secretary of the navy, journalist, writer, and now a senator. He brings an incredibly rich and varied background (and a genuinely bi-partisan aura) to the ticket.

--He's young enough that him and Obama present a stark contrast to McCain.

--He's enough of an outsider to fit Obama's message of change but still brings solid experience where according to voters, Obama is weakest;

--The fact that he was in the Reagan administration fits with Obama's message of bi-partisanship and will draw crossover voters

--The fact that he's popular and well known in VA and will put it in play.

--The fact that he appeals to the white working class and has talked about working class values etc gives him credibility and will help draw in those voters where Obama appears to be weak.

[mod mom]

2. I REALLY hope he is our next VP! Obama/Webb even sounds good!

[JuniperLea]

4. Bliss!

Bliss! Bliss! Bliss!

Pardon me, I'm imagining Jim Web going toe to toe with McCain! McCain would sooooo lose it. Pardon my schadenfreude, but I'm thinking his losing it is pretty inevitable.

[AtomicKitten]

7. He would be a good fit for VP.

[tekisui]

11. He's a prime candidate. Former Repub, military man, worked in the Pentagon,

son in Iraq, well-spoken and concise, from VA.

Great!!

[Mz Pip]

12. I sent him money

in 2006. I've never even been to Virginia. I live in CA but this guy really impressed me.

The Democratic Party may deem it necessary to have a unity ticket Obama/Clinton, if not Obama/Webb would be awesome.

Can you imagine Jim Webb in the VP debate against Huckabible?

[jefferson_dem]

13. That's the "shiznit"!

Gotta be Obama/Webb!

[nebula]

14. No way Webb can be VP

his pederast writings is an instant disqualification.

[woolldog]

17. WRONG.

He was describing events he had witnessed while in SE Asia. That doesn't make him a pederast.

[nebula]

19. He can be easily painted as such

doesn't matter if he really is or not.

[woolldog]

21. I suppose if people like you continue spreading misinformation

it's possible. However this issue was already vetted at least once during his campaign for Senate.

Even the fact that this needs to be responded to is a liability, sure. But I think his benefits (see my post above outlining them), far outweigh something like this which is easily explained and actually ends up underscoring his service in Vietnam...and his military credibility

[Jennifer C]

23. Plus McCain is quoted on the book jacket

praising Webb's book Lost Soldiers,

“James Webb’s new novel paints a portrait of a modern Vietnam charged with hopes for the future but haunted by the ghosts of its war-torn past. It captures well the lingering scars of the war, and exposes the tension between the dynamism of a new generation and the invisible bondage of an older generation for whom wartime allegiances, and animosities, are rendered no less vivid by the passage of time. A novel of revenge and redemption that tells us much about both where Vietnam is headed and where it has been.”

— Senator John McCain

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780440240914&view=quotes

[woolldog]

25. even better.

:rofl:

[DianaForRussFeingold]

15. K&R- Virginia's Governor is a Democrat, we'd retain his Senate seat.

Obama/Webb 2008


Keith (Countdown) interviews Jim Webb after his (Bush State of the Union response)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLrJSj1AQBs&feature=related edited to add-- video from January 28, 2008, one year after Webb's SOTU, response

Also edited add-Obama knows he needs a V.P. with NATIONAL SECURITY Credentials
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4673476

[seasat]

18. Webb has said he would decline it.

However in political terms that probably means maybe. The Hill asked the senators about who would want to be VP. Just over 20 gave definite yeses.

[woolldog]

22. That's not what the article indicates.

It says that "he dismissed it with a grin."

Not the same as declining it. He may have dismissed it for any number of reasons that have nothing to do with him not wanting to be VP. e.g., he might not think it's realistic; he might not think he's what Obama would need; he might not be interested in it, but would say yes if asked. You just can't tell from that article.

[woolldog]

24. k

:kick: