Get comfortable with the idea, people, because it is going to happen.
Watch this video from an appearance on MSNBC. Sen. Webb takes on the GI Bill from minutes 2 to 4, and then Obama's problems in Appalachia from 4 minutes on. Watch as he simultaneously tears apart Pat Buchannan and adds a huge new piece to Barack Obama's growing coalition. Listen carefully to how he reframes the issue of race in America, and in particular how he treats affirmative action:
For a longer take, go listen to this, Webb's appearance on NPR's Fresh Air.
Webb really is the perfect running mate for Obama. He adds significantly to Obama's appeal in Appalachia, potentially putting states into play that McCain might otherwise take for granted. He is a relentless messenger, willing to fight fiercely and yet nevertheless politely when he believes his cause is just. He adds to Obama's post-partisan appeal because of his history as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs and then the Secretary of the Navy for President Ronald Reagan. And that very same history, when combined with his record of service as a U.S. Marine - among other things he earned a Navy Cross, the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts - almost entirely neutralizes McCain's theoretical advantage on issues of national security and military affairs. [And I forgot to mention - he was opposed to this stupid war in Iraq well before it began. Obama opposed it from the civilian side, and Webb from his long record of military service.]
When Webb first ran for the Senate back in 2006, Virginia politics guru Larry Sabato was quoted as saying that "Jim Webb is George Allen's worst nightmare: a war hero and a Reagan appointee who holds moderate positions... Allen tries to project a Reagan aura, but Webb already has it." What Sabato said about Allen I'll say about McCain. Obama-Webb is the worst possible thing that could happen to the GOP.
Obama-Webb. Write it down and take it to the bank. It's gonna happen.
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