If Not Edwards, Then Who Will Obama Choose
Edwards rules out vice presidential run with Obama
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former presidential contender John Edwards said on Friday he would not be Democratic front-runner Barack Obama’s running mate, but did not rule out taking a role in an Obama administration.
“Won’t happen,” Edwards told NBC’s “Today” program when asked if he would be Obama’s vice presidential pick. “This is not something I’m interested in.”
Then, what about Jim Webb?
Jim Webb Campaigns (Hard) for Vice President
Few candidates actually announce that they are running for the No. 2 spot on their party’s presidential ticket, and the Democratic senator from Virginia is keeping with the “Who, me? Running with Barack Obama? Do you really think so?” etiquette that defines vice presidential politics.
But Webb is running… hard.
This ticket would reshuffle the political deck
Webb has an impressive resume …
Webb received his J.D. at Georgetown University Law Center in 1975. He served in the U.S. Congress as counsel to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs from 1977 to 1981. In 1982, he first proposed, then led the fight for, including an African American soldier in the memorial statue that now graces the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall. In 1984, he was appointed the inaugural Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. In 1987, he became the first Naval Academy graduate in history to serve in the military and then become Secretary of the Navy.
In addition to Webb’s public service, he enjoyed a long career as a writer. He has authored eight books, including six best-selling novels, and has worked extensively as a screenwriter and producer in Hollywood. He taught literature at the Naval Academy as their first visiting writer, has traveled worldwide as a journalist, and earned an Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his PBS coverage of the U.S. Marines in Beirut. In 2004, Webb went into Afghanistan as a journalist, embedded with the U.S. military.
He speaks Vietnamese and has done extensive pro bono work with the Vietnamese community dating from the late l970’s.
Webb graduated from the Naval Academy in l968, receiving the Superintendent’s Commendation for outstanding leadership contributions while a midshipman, and subsequently chose a commission in the Marine Corps.
First in his class of 243 at the Marine Corps Officers’ Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, Webb served with the Fifth Marine Regiment in Vietnam, where as a rifle platoon and company commander in the infamous An Hoa Basin west of Danang he was awarded the Navy Cross, the Silver Star Medal, two Bronze Star Medals, and two Purple Hearts. He later served as a platoon commander and as an instructor in tactics and weapons at Marine Corps Officer Candidates School, and then as a member of the Secretary of the Navy’s immediate staff, before leaving the Marine Corps in 1972.
Irregular Times rates Jim Webb political track record:
Progressive Action Score: 19
A score of 19 means that Sen. Webb has acted to support 19% of a slate of progressive policies in the 110th Congress.
Right Wing Index Score: 50
A score of 50 means that Senator Webb has acted to support 50% of a slate of conservative, wrongheaded policies in the 110th Congress.
Barack Obama’s dream ticket: Mike Bloomberg for vice president
A dreamier Democrat ‘dream ticket’
… an analysis of the merits of one possible scenario: Kathleen Sebelius, Governor of Kansas, as Obama’s vice presidential running mate.
Superior choice
Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas is an altogether superior choice as Obama’s vice presidential running mate. Kathleen Sebelius was elected as a Democrat Governor in strongly Republican Kansas in 2002 with 53 per cent and re-elected in 2006 with 57.8 per cent, proving a dazzling political talent.
She has been a highly effective Governor, turning a large state deficit into a surplus without a real increase in taxes, and improved funding for education. She has a reputation for achieving sustained bipartisan cooperation and is married to a Federal magistrate who is the son of a Kansas Republican congressman.
The Vice Presidential choice will be the make or break choice to unite independent voters: a little salt, a little pepper, a dash of realism and hold the onions. Put that on mulit-grain, please. The United States of America needs a healthier choice.
If only Obama could snag Big Al!
