Maybe yet another reason why Obama would want to pick Webb? I’ll explain why after the excerpt.

From The Hill:

Webb wants his home state to have the right to explore for energy off Virginia’s coast. His staff insists his proposal pertains only to natural gas, and not oil, and that it is completely in line with the state’s other two leading Democrats — Gov. Tim Kaine and former Gov. Mark Warner, who is running for Senate.

Yet by attaching his name to the bill, sponsored by Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), Webb is taking a step away from Barack Obama (D-Ill.), the party’s presidential candidate, who opposes offshore drilling, and one closer to Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the GOP standard-bearer who recently called for lifting the federal ban.

Webb’s divergence from his party also comes as his name is being mentioned on Obama’s short list for a running mate.

So then…why would this prompt Obama to pick Webb? Well, complete ideological purity is not what Obama is preaching, so this would be in line with the “unity” theme, right? After all, he shouldn’t have to agree with Webb on everything, just some of the more important initiatives like Iraq, Iran, health care and taxation. And, to the best of my knowledge, they line up on those key issues.

What do you think? Does this help or hurt Webb’s chances?

Congressional Credentials:

VA Senator (2007)

Committees: Foreign Relations, Veterans Affairs, Armed Services, Joint Economic
Subcommittees: African Affairs; East Asian and Pacific Affairs; International Operations and Organizations, Democracy and Human Rights; Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs

Military Experience:

Secretary of the Navy 1987-1988 (under Ronald Reagan)
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs from 1984 to 1987
US Marine – First Lieutenant & Platoon Commander during Vietnam War (1968-1972)
Graduated from the US Naval Academy at Georgetown University
His father was a career officer in the US Air Force

Background:

Scottish-Irish Jim Webb grew up in a military family in Missouri.

His Agenda:

According to his website, “Senator Jim Webb’s legislative priorities have been guided by three themes: reorienting America’s national security posture, promoting economic fairness, and increasing government accountability. Webb has successfully supported legislation that reflect these themes. He has introduced or cosponsored measures focused on: developing robust practices of international diplomacy, supporting our troops through responsible deployment cycles, providing comprehensive educational benefits for our post-9/11 veterans, developing stronger ethics laws and making government more transparent and accountable to the American taxpayer through greater oversight over wartime contracts.”

Foreign Policy Cred:

Webb is the full package — Military experience, administrative executive experience, committee experience and legislative experience!

Domestic Policy Cred:

He introduced two pieces of legislation: the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act (to restore post-WWII type benefits to current veterans) and the S 759 (to prohibit the use of funds for military operations in Iran without Congressional approval.) The first one passed, with Bipartisan approval.

Star Achievements:

As First Lieutenant / Platoon Commander, he earned the Navy Cross for heroism (the second-highest decoration), the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts. He won an Emmy Award for his 1983 PBS coverage of the U.S. Marines in Beirut. Webb was also awarded the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal, the Medal of Honor Society’s Patriot Award, the American Legion National Commander’s Public Service Award, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Media Service Award, the Marine Corps League’s Military Order of the Iron Mike Award, the John H. Russell Leadership Award, and the Robert L. Denig Distinguished Service Award

Possible Snafus:

-Attract the female demographic? Don’t count on it! Republicans care about personal life issues, but do Democrats? I think most women would say, “Five kids by three different women? Two divorces? RUN!” Former Clinton supporters might also not want to endorse an Obama-Webb ticket, citing Webb’s 1979 article titled “Why Women Can’t Fight.” At the time, a press conference was held by five female Naval Academy graduates, who were offended –  although, nine other women graduates  called Webb “a man of integrity” and thanked him for “recognizing the crucial role that women have in the military today.”

-Actions speak louder than words? He’s a writer, so naturally there’s cannon fodder for the ignorant who like to pick apart passages, rather than looking at the book as a whole.(Trust me, it’s happened before.)  His old senate opposition pointed to “homosexual/immoral” passages in one of his books. His book Born Fighting has garnered much praise but some say he portrays the Confederacy sympathetically.

-Domestic experience? Not exactly. Well, he’s another Junior Senator. Some say Obama would be best served selecting a seasoned governor – and Webb is far from it. His foreign policy credentials are unbeatable (with the exception of Wesley Clar, possibly), but if McCain goes with an economics / domestic policy expert, Obama will be in trouble.

VicePresidents.com Assessment…

Around Washington, Webb is known as a “tough Southern populist.” He’s not afraid to bite, if provoked – even if the provoker is President Bush himself! He likes his guns and he’s a good Irish Protestant, which may be how he won over Virginia – a traditionally Republican state. While he holds a stately appearance, Webb once called himself “a redneck!” There’s no doubt that he’s very much his own man – independent and unwilling to simply “tow the line.” Articulate and confident, Jim Webb is someone who sometimes comes off “wooden” (in an Al Gore sort of way) — but certainly commands respect.

Democrats like him because he’s “seen the errors of his ways” (he was once a Republican) and now he’s defected to the other side, he has a longstanding opposition to the War in Iraq and he fights for the working middle class. In his response to Bush’s State of the Union address last year, he garnered much praise by saying, “The middle class of this country, our historic backbone and our best hope for a strong society in the future, is losing its place at the table… In the early days of our republic, President Andrew Jackson established an important principle of American-style democracy –that we should measure the health of our society not at its apex, but at its base. Not with the numbers that come out of Wall Street, but with the living conditions that exist on Main Street. We must recapture that spirit today.” (Recognize the Obama-lingo there?) Similarly, he penned a Wall Street Journal piece entitled “Class Struggle.”  If Obama needs to appeal to the country working class base, Webb is an ardent fighter. The Swift Boat veterans can’t get him, either: unlike Kerry, Webb has never bad-mouthed the Vietnam War or his service. In a 2004 op-ed, Webb said Kerry “defamed a generation of honorable men.”

Personally, I think he recently took a much-coveted seat in the senate that had been held by Republicans for quite some time, so he’s needed there.  His agenda would mesh well with Obama’s,  but I wonder could Obama have it all and find someone with military and governing experience to put wind in his sails? Unfortunately, California Governor Gray Davis is the only one who comes to mind that has both qualifications and his legacy is forever tainted by the California energy crises. As for mayors with military experience… there was the time that Atlantic City mayor Bob Levy fabricated a military record, but uh, that’s it. Given the shallow pool of VEEP nominees that seemingly “have it all,” Obama has a tough decision making process ahead of him – one that Jim Webb will most certainly factor into.

As far as chatter goes, the talk around Webb as VP has cooled a bit since it was first raised, but since Obama essentially started his campaign in Virginia yesterday, I think it’s appropriate to raise the question again.

So how does Webb stack up against the rest of the field? How do you think he did on Meet The Press and other poli-talk shows?

Consider this an open thread on VPs.

From Craig Newmark’s blog:

Overwhelming GI Bill Victory in the Senate
World War II-Style GI Bill Passed as Part of War Supplemental

NEW YORK – Today, by an overwhelming 75-22 margin, the Senate passed the “Post-9/11 GI Bill” as part of the war supplemental funding bill. This bipartisan legislation, originally introduced by Senators Jim Webb (D-VA), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and John Warner (R-VA), is whole-heartedly endorsed by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the nation’s first and largest nonpartisan Iraq veterans organization, and all the leading Veterans Service Organizations.

So does it go back to the House at this point or straight to the Prez? Because I’m pretty sure the House passed this on May 15th.

Anybody, anybody?

The part I’m talking about starts about 4:30 in…

Do note when he says, “When I hear people say this is racism, my back gets up a little bit, because that’s my cultural group.” That’s important and one of the biggest reasons why making distinctions between racism and frustrations based on race is important.

Here’s more (via Huff Post):

Black America and Scots-Irish America are like tortured siblings. They both have long history and they both missed the boat when it came to the larger benefits that a lot of other people were able to receive. There’s a saying in the Appalachian mountains that they say to one another, and it’s, “if you’re poor and white, you’re out of sight.” [...]

This isn’t Selma, 1965. This is a result of how affirmative action, which was basically a justifiable concept when it applied to African Americans, expanded to every single ethnic group in America that was not white, and these were the people who had not received benefits and were not getting anything out of it. And they’re basically saying let’s pay attention to what has happened to this cultural group in terms of opportunities. [...]

If this cultural group could get at the same table as black America you could rechange populist American politics. Because they have so much in common in terms of what they need out of government.

To me this explanation is dead on and is what Obama has been trying to say, but hasn’t really been able to get there because he can’t speak from Webb’s perspective as a Scots-Irish. He needs the ying to his yang, so to speak, and that’s why Webb makes even more sense as a VP nominee.

Today, Tim Russert asked the senator on Meet The Press…

It’s not a no, and it’s a common response when asked about such things.

What do you think?

A former Republican turned Democrat who could put Virginia in play? Plus massive foreign policy credibility? Plus, like Obama, not a lot of time spent “inside the beltway”?

Marc Ambinder agrees, and notes the release of Webb’s book tomorrow:

“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.

One other thing to note…McCain opposes Webb’s new legislation “Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008.” The reason? Too costly.

Now, I don’t know about you, but given that our military is still all-voluntary and a growing number of them think our leaders have lied to them about why they’re currently fighting, a think we need a nice, big, fat education incentive in order to make sure there’s enough “there” there for us to maintain current troop levels.

Still, McCain opposes it and so this seems like a KEY piece of legislation for the Democrats to push in the fall. In fact, Obama is already calling McCain out for opposing it, and if Webb were the running mate, he could hit McCain on this daily while Obama talked about other issues.

And if the Republicans can actually derail Webb’s legislation and make sure it doesn’t pass, wouldn’t it be rather advantageous for the first bi-partisan pieces of legislation a “President Obama” to pass to be something his VP proposed?

Drawbacks to Webb? He never seems to come off as the most genial of personalities, and if you contrast that with McCain or possibly even Huckabee, it makes the Democrats seem even colder. Also, he’s only been on the national stage for a short time and who knows how he’d do when the spotlight is on him 24/7.

Still, an intriguing pick, no?