I’m a little troubled by the buzz surrounding Jim Webb as a possible VP to Obama. When it was just the usual cult-of-personality folks pushing it, I didn’t think much of it. But the idea that Webb could bring some GOP-attack-defeating military cred to the Dem ticket, pushed along by this foolish notion of having to win over every last racist in Appalachia, has slowly been rising through the bigger public conversation. So it’s worth considering exactly what’s being sold, here.
First, though, I want to be clear – I’ve been a fan of Jim Webb. I contributed to his campaign, I volunteered long hours for him, and was absolutely thrilled to be part of the effort that led to this moment. Webb is – without a doubt – orders of magnitude better than the guy he replaced. Since his election, I’ve been glad to see him push better benefits for veterans and start tackling the (enormously unpopular) topic of prison crowding and violence. He has disappointed me greatly on some issues, but on balance I think he’s a net positive for the United States Senate. I believe he’s got a fine Senate career ahead of him.
As a VP? Not so much. Kathy G., like me, questions Webb’s:
shaky campaigning skills, his well-documented history of extremely poor political judgments, his johnny-come-lately status as a Democrat, his questionable ability to attract votes, and above all, his horrible record on gender[.]
Check out her lengthy post for solid examples of each. Now, I’m not suggesting that Webb hasn’t improved in some of these areas, or that he isn’t entitled to credit for evolving views. But he’s got a very public record available that shows some pretty bad judgments over the years. Further, he’s also demonstrated some bad judgment as Senator (again, here). For me, this doesn’t necessarily add up to him being a poor choice for Senator. But it certainly doesn’t support the idea of him as a good choice for Vice President.
The Vice Presidency isn’t merely another political pose – it’s what the country intends to rely on in a time of enormous crisis, and it’s the slot from which the occupant will do all he or she can to make herself the prohibitive favorite of the party for 2016. And right now, Webb hasn’t yet proven himself to be worthy of either of those things. Democrats can do better.
Vivian J. Paige
Uh oh. There goes your official Webb card.
MB
Probably. Does that mean I lose my table space at the 2008 Democratic Self Respect Yard Sale? I hear it’s going to be a banner year.
Webb’s a perfectly good (if flawed) Senator, and I’m proud to have voted for him. But the VP slot requires more than he’s been able to show he can offer, I think.
travc
Webb certainly isn’t perfect, and face it, he is conservative of the old-fashioned not-insane sort.
Unless there are bombshells which would make him a big electoral liability though, I think he is a pretty good choice.
The electoral upside is clear enough, but for me the political / governing potential benefits are most promising.
Webb signals just the sort of ‘unity’ that Obama has been talking about. Conservatives who are basically decent are welcome in the Dem party (for now at least) and will be listened to, though not necessarily agreed with.
Webb is also very well placed to be the ‘president’s whip’ to congress, and to make public arguments for Obama admin policies to people with a generally conservative or libertarian POV.
This last bit is quite important IMO. Most Dems do a very poor job arguing for their policy positions to folks not coming from a liberal perspective. Persuasive arguments exist for Universal Healthcare, better environmental regulations, and all sorts of other issues… but they don’t get made in a way which makes sense to people who generally think regulation / government is a bad choice. The argument has to be more that ‘there is a problem that needs to be fixed’… it has to be include why the government is the best way to fix it. Webb can make those sorts of arguments quite credibly and persuasively.
MB
I think you’ve highlighted the upsides of Webb pretty well, Travc. I’m not saying that Webb is necessarily a bad choice – just that there are better choices with less reason to worry about them.
freewheel
I agree with your analysis. I like Webb’s anti-war stance and his push for economic equality (really rare in today’s politics), but I don’t think he’s running mate material.
The question is, who is compatible w/ Obama and would continue leading with Obama’s ideals intact (that eliminates Hillary, btw) should, god forbid, something happen to President Obama?