Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog

I am not an Obama supporter but I have thought this would be a good idea if McCain were his opponent.

It puts "youth" pressure on the McCain image too.

If Romney was the opponent, I think Obama would have been best going with Rubin.

nice, but the local politics may be a bit off.

It was a miracle that Webb won -- while Virginia is trending D this cycle, it is a stretch for another D to win. Mark Warner is running for the John Warner seat and will probably win in, but based on his personality, not party. If Webb was VP, he'd have to step down if he won the ticket. Kaine (D-Gov) would be able to appoint another Senator, but it would ruin Kaine's chance to move to the Senate himself.

It will be interesting to watch the duel of candidates trying to outthink each other on their VP choices. Likely to make the crucial difference in what I see as a very very close race. Events could also still impact the outcome.

I agree that the biggest weakness for either Democrat is national security. As such, someone with military credentials would be a logical choice for veep. So I understand why you'd see Sen Webb as a possibility.

It's just that since Webb has only been in office barely over a year, I doubt he'd be the one they pick. I'm thinking more of Wesley Clark. Yes I know he's never been elected to anything, but I just can't see Webb leaving after only one years.

I have always like your way of thinking. Does this mean that Obama knows TPMB? If I remember correctly you did talk with Kerry.

The guy I have long thought would be a killer VP for the Ds is another Marine: Gen. Zinni. I don't know if he'd do it. But he would have a lot of credibility on security issues. With Obama, he would fill a box that Obama is weak on.

Tom, you're right. Webb would be the one. Excellent call.

Just need Barak to get the nomination. If he doesn't... well, we all have to think hard about how we'll complete that sentence, but it's not a pleasant prospect.

Actually, two others I bring up regularly under the security argument are Clark and Zinni.

Clark expected to be SECDEF under Clinton (old buds), so I've often thought that would keep him out of the derby, but who knows.

With Zinni, I always saw that as an Obama option. Zinni would be great.

Webb in my mind would be an even better top of the ticket. He was right on both Iraq wars. Few can say that.

But the Dems lack leadership and focus. Obama and Clinton and need to end their fight against each other. The game plan is to win the Presidency for the party and IMHO for the country. The two egos need to cool it. They should to flip a coin and cut a deal. with the winner going for the Presidency and the loser becoming the new Secretary of State. VP, Jim Webb or as others said Wesley Clark.

There is one other radical possibility. The economy collapses. Bush declares marshal law and stays there. Bush 43 has some historical resemblance with Augustus Caesar. His political skills are legend now. His economic skills are also right on, The problems that both Reagan and Clinton left were so severe that both times the Republic had to be rescued by a Bush. Bush 43 went wrong badly, but making some bad appointments: Bremmer, Rumsfeld, Powell, Rice as NSA, Snow, Gonzales, Cheroff, and maybe Bennake. These mistakes are not likely to be repeated and Bush may yet find his Agrippa.

Bush could argue as both Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar did back when, that American system of government is beyond redemption and must be corrected. An economic collapse, not Bush’s fault BTW, has some probability with various hedge funds, money center banks, the quasi government agencies bankrupting because of excess leverage and excess lending to excessively levered organizations.

The worst possible scenario would be a McCain victory as I do not think McCain has the big picture of the world and admits that he does not understand economics. Not much chance of that as AP just reported that Dennis Hastert’s House seat was just won by a Democrat. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080309/ap_on_el_ge/congress_hastert_s_seat

J Canepa's comments are pure "Coup-Porn" (like the recent spates of Obama Assassination Porn). This kind of stuff just gets the wacko-left going, regardless of whether it's reality-based or not.

http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=11329

As far as Clark goes--he might be on a Clinton ticket, and he can be counted on to tow the Candidate's lines on IZ.

Zinni--he's a Democrat?! I know he was nominated by the Clintons for CENTCOM, but also remember he was picked by Bush 43 to be a Middle East envoy on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. He's known for ruffling feathers and I doubt he would be a team player. Obama's ever-changing positions on when to withdraw from IZ would have to find some basis in reality and be firmed up before Zinni would ever join the ticket.

Webb lost me when he went to the naval academy to give a speech on the role of the Navy, talk about strategy, then when asked about the Navy's maritime strategy his response was "i haven't read it."

We don't need more leaders who are ready to tell us they already know everything, we need leaders who are ready to listen to what others are saying. Those are exactly the kind of signs people dismissed and ignored with the current leadership.

There's only one big problem with Webb as I see. He isn't going to run for president in 2016 [at 70].

Obama needs a pick that sets up the future. So I'd say stay in Virginia but go with Mark Warner. That way we'll get a new generation off Dems and Republicans.

I mean, we're screwed if there's anymore of this boomer nonsense.