Maybe you're having an identity crisis, who you are is up to you after all :) But I don't think you're nuts. That said, I think you may be a little wild thinking if you really think Webb is a serious VP contender and not a Senator on a book tour. This interview isn't the first time Webb says he's not interested in a VP offer.

I think Webb's name floating as a veep contender among speculators is just his name still resonating after it was used to repair some of Obama's momentum during "bittergate." I'm not sure who first made the save, but someone pointed out that Webb's Senate campaign stump speech (which he pretty much rehashes in this interview) covered very similar ground as Obama's description of Republican exploitation of "working class Americans." The difference of course was Webb was talking directly to those working class Americans (the gist being "They've been using you, I'll fight FOR you"), and Obama got trapped into seeming like he was creating a "them" out of them.

I have family relations and connections who worked in the DoD during the same period as Webb. Bluntly, they all thought of him as a pretty smart guy, but kind of a dick about it (their perjorative) and definitely not smart enough to justify his particular level of cockiness. That's neither here nor there, but it's enough to give my gut pause when his name's floated.

I think Webb has to answer for his reactions re: Tailhook. I understand he was trying to "save" an institution he felt was under attack and I understand the witch hunt critique he was making, but his defense of "navy culture" was too vague and apologist to give perspective to the scandal. I think Obama would hurt himself with women, all of us who want a strong female voice and/or perspective at the top (if not through Clinton), by bringing in someone like Webb at this time.

I didn't mean to put you on that much of a defensive either (except for the part of questioning whether I'd only be satisfied with a female VP).

I am surprised though that Tailhook wasn't really on your radar. Webb wasn't Secretary of the Navy during the specific scandal, but Tailhook as an event was going on during his tenure and he had to have known its reputation. In addition, he really stepped up to critique the whole thing afterward. I understand his critique to a point. This is an institution you've devoted your life to and watching it fall apart while the media puts anyone with a live pulse on a 24 hour cycle to speculate on what happened and why is devastating. On the other hand, what happened was unbelievable and i think Webb would have been better off being strategic about his concerns (after all it was years later when he began voicing them)rather than just being defensive of the navy and minimizing the complaints, and especially by yelping about "feminists." That's just too insulting.

(I did some refreshing of it during his runoff with George Allen post the macaca incident. My husband was the one who reminded me about it so it's not just women who remember. In addition, the Republicans tried to remind people of it as well.)

Throwing out Obama VP candidates is a great idea, and I know shooting them down is an easy enough task, but like i said if you're talking about bringing in the clinton base, how that VP plays among women needs to be part of the equation.

Show us a picture. Come on. You know you were cute.

Some folks may or may not know I'm sort of working on looking at unconstitutional overcrowding in Philly's local prison system where 60% of those held are not convicted of any crime yet but merely awaiting trial. Up to 60% of that pre-trial 60% are there simply because they can't afford to make bail - even a low bail - of say $535. If our goal is to make people pee in a cup or submit to supervision while they await trial for minor offenses, there are many cheaper alternatives like "day reporting" that could be applied both more cheaply and more effectively for people facing lesser charges. Essentially an awful lot of the city's resources are going to pre-emptively imprison poor people with drug and mental problems, and thats money that could be used to say beef up re-entry programs, make parole and probation work better for more serious offenders, or for intervention programs aimed at young people - all of which do more to actually make Philly's streets safer in the long run.

Its an ongoing project and I've been gathering some resources on the topic here.

But back on Webb, I found this interview a refreshingly honest perspective on this topic you seldom hear from national politicians. On US incarceration rates, Webb speaks more honestly than most in the Senate do which is well worth noting.

-Sean
MrLuigi, my cat, actually only types half as badly as I do.

If this were Webb's 2nd term in the Senate, he'd be an excellent choice. However, it could be a problem were the Dems to have two 1st term Senators on the same ticket.

I've said it before + I'll say it here: the best possible VP for Obama is Bill Richardson. In no particular order...

* He's Hispanic, meaning that he's a member of the fastest-growing ethnicity in the US
* He has done basically everything that one can do in government w/o being President
* He comes from the desert SW, a part of the country which Obama would really likke to carry

Thoughts?
-Z

I wrote an addendum to my last post because I thought it came out kind of wishy-washy regarding what to do about Webb; I thought it posted, but i see this morning that it didn't. Stupid internet connection, The Last Drop is really slacking off.

Anyway, what I said was this:

If I were advising Obama, I'd interview Webb for the reasons Josh listed above. Sean's post today reveals the central rationale: Webb amplifies one of Obama's most special qualities, he speaks with unusual honesty for a politician and comes across as a similarly principled and refreshing politician that voters might find uniquely trustworthy, as so many Obama supporters already find Obama. Zorro, I'd argue his executive experience as Secretary of the Navy is adequate preparation and his Senate seat just shows he's still relevant. (I forgot that my dad worked for him; I'll have to ask his opinion of Webb.)

That said, at the interview I'd try to determine if he's really a misogynist, if he can explains his comments about Tailhook and the disturbing passages in his writing. If he can't, he's gone. If he can, I'd move him on to the semi-finals.

I wrote that I'd also interview Clinton, Richardson (for all the good reasons zorro mentions), Sebelius, maybe Napolitano, maybe McCaskill, one of the other preferred state candidates like Kaine (or Mark Warner) or Ted Strickland, and one wild card of the candidate's choosing.

Whoever was left standing after the first interviews, I'd double vet. Then I'd suggest choosing whomever the candidate and the staff thinks would make the best president.