WTF is an ex-veteran?

Webb will be in the top 3. But that headline blows.

I was so busy looking at how the headline treated Webb's nomination as a done deal when he was only a speculated candidate for the position that I completely missed the "ex-veteran" part. I guess maybe the "WASP-AMERICAN" distracted me from the "rural-roots" too.

Bit of a misleading headline, but Webb would be a perfect pick for a Veep spot.

Webb is pretty much bullet-proof as a VP pick. Uh, figuratively.

His military record puts even McCain's to shame, and he has Reaganite credentials ...

"Ex-veteran." Farking brilliant.

kmmontandon: Webb is pretty much bullet-proof as a VP pick. Uh, figuratively.

His military record puts even McCain's to shame, and he has Reaganite credentials ...

He's made some inflammatory remarks about women though. Might be his Achilles heel.

kmmontandon: Webb is pretty much bullet-proof as a VP pick. Uh, figuratively.

His military record puts even McCain's to shame, and he has Reaganite credentials ...

A first term senator with little experience, who thought we couldn't take Baghdad in an invasion, been married three times, who had his aide try to sneek his loaded gun into the senate office building, and you think that is bullet proof?

Snowflake Tubbybottom: A first term senator with little experience, who thought we couldn't take Baghdad in an invasion, been married three times, who had his aide try to sneek his loaded gun into the senate office building, and you think that is bullet proof?

Play with it. Watch him shove his Size 12 up your ass.

Snowflake Tubbybottom: kmmontandon: Webb is pretty much bullet-proof as a VP pick. Uh, figuratively.

His military record puts even McCain's to shame, and he has Reaganite credentials ...

A first term senator with little experience, who thought we couldn't take Baghdad in an invasion, been married three times, who had his aide try to sneek his loaded gun into the senate office building, and you think that is bullet proof?

Let's look at what you said... A first term senator with little experience

Kinda like Obama, who leads in pretty much every meaningful metric, even against McCain.

who thought we couldn't take Baghdad in an invasion

where we're still getting our asses handed to us

been married three times

See McCain

who had his aide try to sneek his loaded gun into the senate office building

And the Dems win the NRA vote 7:1

I'm not seeing the problem here.

Noooo!!!! Unless he's using it as a stepping stone to POTUS his talents and reputation and the Senate seat are wasted as veep. Me likey Vilsack

It's not going to be Jim Webb. Webb is too new, and Obama's going to need someone with "experience" (yes, I know it's a bullshiat fake metric that completely disregards a ton of legitimate real-life experience in the Illinois state senate, but whatever) to balance his ticket.

My money's still on Richardson or Sebelius.

i decided who his running mate would be a while ago

I'm thinking that a hardcore military VP might be upcoming.

This is Admiral Fallon, CentCom commander for the entire middle east up until a couple months ago. He was the one holding back Bush from warring with Iran, you'll remember.

Skail: It's not going to be Jim Webb. Webb is too new, and Obama's going to need someone with "experience" (yes, I know it's a bullshiat fake metric that completely disregards a ton of legitimate real-life experience in the Illinois state senate, but whatever) to balance his ticket.

My money's still on Richardson or Sebelius.

He has tons of experience, just not in an elected position. And that could be a good thing. Anyone with a lot of experience in the Senate/House/etc. has a long voting record, and the opposing party uses that long voting record to attack that person, i.e. "Candidate X voted for blah, blah, blah in 1992. Candidate X does not share your values."

meh. He wouldn't be my choice as veep.

My money is on Webb or Richardson.

Or Wesley Clark, even though he's for Clinton right now.

Snowflake Tubbybottom: A first term senator with little experience, who thought we couldn't take Baghdad in an invasion, been married three times, who had his aide try to sneek his loaded gun into the senate office building, and you think that is bullet proof?

Just you wait for the VP debate. Regardless of who McCain puts up as his veep pick, Webb will all but strangle the man and eat him alive.

As he did to Lindsey Graham in this clip.

Obama/Webb '08
Obama/Webb '12
Webb/tbd '16
Webb/tbd '20

I actually think it will not be a military person. That is McCain strength and why fight him strength for strength when Obama does not need the military vote to win. I think he is better off picking a more socially moderate person. Those people don't like McCain and just need an excuse to vote against him.

McCain can trump his military creds all he wants, it's not enough by itself to win him the election. No, I'd be shocked if Obama picked a person with a military background; it really makes no sense.

Webb or Sebelius are best bets, I'd be fine with Richardson too.

Obama/Duke'08

/balance the racists

Sigh. I like the guy, I voted for him, he'd be a terrible terrible terrible VP choice. That's just the way it is folks. He sucks on the campaign trail and is real prone to gaffs. There are boatloads of quotes from him about Tailhook, women in combat, and so on that will serve as a lightning rod of controversy and further alienate Hillary supporters. The sexual content of his books will give our pathetic media weeks of fun and titillation that will serve to only further distract the campaign. Plus the Republicans will likely gain that seat back.

A bad VP choice hurts you way more than a good VP choice helps you. There are better choices than Webb.

If Obama is elected I wonder what odds are of him surviving his first term of office?

Anybody but the Hildabeast, please!

yequalsy: Sigh. I like the guy, I voted for him, he'd be a terrible terrible terrible VP choice. That's just the way it is folks. He sucks on the campaign trail and is real prone to gaffs. There are boatloads of quotes from him about Tailhook, women in combat, and so on that will serve as a lightning rod of controversy and further alienate Hillary supporters. The sexual content of his books will give our pathetic media weeks of fun and titillation that will serve to only further distract the campaign. Plus the Republicans will likely gain that seat back.

A bad VP choice hurts you way more than a good VP choice helps you. There are better choices than Webb.

I feel pretty much the same way. He has the military cred, but he's far too controversial to really help Obama. I still favor Richardson, but the more I hear about Sebelius, the more I like her. Sebelius and Richardson both bring positives to the table (female vote and a possible red to blue state conversion for Sebelius, hispanic vote and foreign policy cred for Richardson) and both are fairly clean politically.

ZaldaPhlemm: If Obama is elected I wonder what odds are of him surviving his first term of office?

If they could keep dumbya alive, Obama will do just fine...

I've said since day one of Obama's candidacy that Obama/Webb is my dream ticket.

That would be awesome.

He spoke at my college graduation. I remember seeing agents camped out with scoped rifles and binoculars in the dormitory behind him. Anyway, I don't think he'd be the best choice for veep.

US Senator. Won't happen.

yequalsy: There are boatloads of quotes from him about Tailhook, women in combat, and so on that will serve as a lightning rod of controversy and further alienate Hillary supporters.

You know what?

You're right. You're absolutely right. That "Women Can't Fight" essay he wrote plagued him during the Senate race with George Allen, and would probably torpedo his standing with women voters.

I'd still like to see Webb kicking ass along the campaign trail, though. And even if he doesn't get appointed a cabinet position - staying in the senate instead, he'd be an asset if the senate Democrats don't reach a filibuster-proof majority.

How about David Duke? That should balance the ticket nicely.

/I keed

My money is on Richardson.

How did all y'all decide Obama was racist again? I don't remember.

McCain cheated on his wife and dumped her for a younger woman. Who knows, maybe women voters think that is better than Webb. Then again, they think Bill Clinton is great even though he cheated on Hillary and prey on a young woman intern.

I still wonder what some people see in Webb. He needed a lot of help just to get a win by 0.5% in Virginia for his Senate seat, and his approval ratings have remained low since he took office. The same people who like him criticize President Bush for his low approval ratings and a tight race that got him his office.

They criticize Dick Cheney for simply seeming angry all the time, but Cheney does not hold a candle to Webb in this matter.

They are anti-gun and generally pacifistic, but Webb is a veteran who brought a gun into the Capitol.

So, I wonder, how would Webb fit the Obama model of "change you can believe in"?

Oh, that's right, the (D) next to his name. Silly me.

06Wahoo: So, I wonder, how would Webb fit the Obama model of "change you can believe in"?

Oh, that's right, the (D) next to his name. Silly me.

I don't know about his popularity and I don't know if I think he is a good pick. But at the moment, he has a signature issue, and that is VA benefits and the whole new GI Bill. He could demonstrate that you don't need to support a pointless war to support the troops. Webb actually supports the troops.

Three Crooked Squirrels: 06Wahoo: So, I wonder, how would Webb fit the Obama model of "change you can believe in"?

Oh, that's right, the (D) next to his name. Silly me.

I don't know about his popularity and I don't know if I think he is a good pick. But at the moment, he has a signature issue, and that is VA benefits and the whole new GI Bill. He could demonstrate that you don't need to support a pointless war to support the troops. Webb actually supports the troops.

He also fought for equal time at home as deployed. Webb said, the Brits spend 6 months deployed and 18 months at home. U.S. Army can spend 15 months deployed and 12 months at home.

Do not underestimate this man. He is not only an ex-veteran but also a former alumnus.

atlanta_ufo: He also fought for equal time at home as deployed. Webb said, the Brits spend 6 months deployed and 18 months at home. U.S. Army can spend 15 months deployed and 12 months at home.

Yup, he did. I think that his actual support of the human beings who comprise our troops, rather than "support of mission=support of troops" would be an asset to the ticket, but I really don't know enough about the rest of the stuff to give an opinion of whether he is a good choice.

Submitter: Dude just happens to have a book debuting right about now

Did Jim Rome write this headline?

/Classic.
//Epic.
///Out.

This is Admiral Fallon, CentCom commander for the entire middle east up until a couple months ago. He was the one holding back Bush from warring with Iran, you'll remember.

We may not be warring with Iran, but it's sure as hell warring with us.

He should definitely pick an albino, so that the pigment spectrum is well covered.

For all the talk about Jim Webb and rural votes.. i'm pretty sure he didn't win any rural areas that Kaine or Warner didn't already win.

But Webb does write about the Scots-Irish without getting into bizarro stuff about how "Scots-Irish blood causes personality traits", so that's good.

He's more likely to be picked than Sebelius though. "White Male who is lousy at campaigning" > "White female who is lousy at campaigning"

And expect the "Hillary Supporters Count Too" fanatics to snap if Webb is the pick. George Allen was too busy making gaffes to truely slice up Webb on women.

I'm thinking Evan Bayh. Think about it:

1. Moderate Great Lakes state Democrat
2. Extremely popular ex-Gov. and current Sen. from Indiana
3. He's from the Hillary camp, so you get some of her support without having to deal with her directly.

Tom Vilsack fits these credentials pretty well too. I'd ask Webb to be SecDefense, and Richardson for SecState.

If he's Scots-Irish, then he's not Anglo-Saxon, and hence not WASP-ish.

/not that many people will notice

tatum: Do not underestimate this man. He is not only an ex-veteran but also a former alumnus.

hehe. Funny!

He'll be might be

The guy isn't confirmed yet
from TFA:
"Webb, 62, is pulling political levers that almost surely will put him in the top tier of potential Democratic nominees for vice president"

...and clear WASP-AMERICAN heritageScots-Irish, working-class heritage

Last I checked working class and Irish aren't exactly what you'd associate with the acronym and generalistaion WASP

Ex veteran

What are you trying to say here Subby??
No personal offence but with regards to that headline:

Webb is doing a fantastic job looking out for our military families as a senator. The primary problem with this scenario is the democratic holding in the senate is too thin to lose another seat. Fortunately, 21 of the republicans have to defend their seats this year. If we had a better idea of how many seats republicans were going to lose, it would be less risky with a Webb ticket. (The four most vulnerable senators of 2008: Sens. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, Susan Collins of Maine, Gordon Smith of Oregon and John Sununu of New Hampshire, proceed with extreme prejudice.)

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0407/3713.html (pops)

McManus_brothers: I'm thinking Evan Bayh.

Plus, he balances out Obama's charisma with his own lack of charisma.

Rovian: The primary problem with this scenario is the democratic holding in the senate is too thin to lose another seat.

Tim Kaine would appoint a replacement and Kaine is a Democrat.