Thursday, May 22, 2008
Hungry For Seconds
So, following today's headlines that McCain is beginning the interview process for possible running mates, comes the leak that Obama is doing the same. I'm not so sure that giving the vetting job to the guy who helped produce Geraldine Ferraro and John Edwards is exactly the best idea. But, hey, I'm not a Democrat and I can't imagine the questions that have to be run through to narrow down the right person.
However, I agree with this post on Andrew's site. This shouldn't come as a surprise to those RT-ers who have seen my interest and admiration for the gentleman from Virginia for a couple years now (and apologies for not noting at the time that I used the same Webb pun-headline twice in a few months). Last fall, I predicted that a Clinton-Webb ticket would win the presidency. While that may no longer happen ("Wait, I'm not dead yet! It's only a flesh wound!"), there is just as strong a case to be made for Webb as Obama's running mate (except, perhaps, on the experience factor). For whatever it's worth, this would also be the most truly literary ticket presidential ticket in history.
The Corner notes Webb's strongly culturally conservative view of affirmative action, vs. Obama's more typical one. I think the combination could create a rather interesting honest intra-party Democratic debate on the question of preferences.
On the Republican side, McCain should certainly skew younger, though Louisiana's Bobby Jindal is too young (and only just got elected to the governorship). There is certainly a fair bit of support for Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty (who makes sense geographically and managed to survive the '06 Democratic tsunami). However, as a wild card, McCain might want to think about this guy. Yes, he's only House member, but he's smart, truly reform-minded and a friendly, good-looking guy too (hey, if McCain is running against Obama, it wouldn't be bad to include some aesthetic considerations). On similar reasons, I'd also suggest Ryan's colleague, Jeff Flake, but unfortunately, he has the bad luck of being from the same state as McCain.
UPDATE: NRO's John O'Sullivan lists Webb's positives on a ticket with Obama. Andrew worries that Webb's past statements on women would look like a slap in the face to supporters of a defeated Hillary Clinton. That's a slight risk that could be gotten around with coordinated support from many female Democratic elected officials (particularly those who serve with Webb and Obama in the Senate).
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However, I agree with this post on Andrew's site. This shouldn't come as a surprise to those RT-ers who have seen my interest and admiration for the gentleman from Virginia for a couple years now (and apologies for not noting at the time that I used the same Webb pun-headline twice in a few months). Last fall, I predicted that a Clinton-Webb ticket would win the presidency. While that may no longer happen ("Wait, I'm not dead yet! It's only a flesh wound!"), there is just as strong a case to be made for Webb as Obama's running mate (except, perhaps, on the experience factor). For whatever it's worth, this would also be the most truly literary ticket presidential ticket in history.
The Corner notes Webb's strongly culturally conservative view of affirmative action, vs. Obama's more typical one. I think the combination could create a rather interesting honest intra-party Democratic debate on the question of preferences.
On the Republican side, McCain should certainly skew younger, though Louisiana's Bobby Jindal is too young (and only just got elected to the governorship). There is certainly a fair bit of support for Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty (who makes sense geographically and managed to survive the '06 Democratic tsunami). However, as a wild card, McCain might want to think about this guy. Yes, he's only House member, but he's smart, truly reform-minded and a friendly, good-looking guy too (hey, if McCain is running against Obama, it wouldn't be bad to include some aesthetic considerations). On similar reasons, I'd also suggest Ryan's colleague, Jeff Flake, but unfortunately, he has the bad luck of being from the same state as McCain.
UPDATE: NRO's John O'Sullivan lists Webb's positives on a ticket with Obama. Andrew worries that Webb's past statements on women would look like a slap in the face to supporters of a defeated Hillary Clinton. That's a slight risk that could be gotten around with coordinated support from many female Democratic elected officials (particularly those who serve with Webb and Obama in the Senate).
Labels: Barack Obama, Jim Webb, John McCain, Paul Ryan
