On balance, there are better running mates for Obama. Webb does not like campaigning enough to spend long hours doing it every day for the next five months.

I like Webb as well but he will have to do some damage control/outreach to women's groups so that Obama doesn't aggravate his already problematic relationship with a certain segment of the female democratic base.

not a good choice.  

Mark Warner I like a lot as VP, but not at the expense of losing the senate seat pickup that looks virtually guaranteed.

I'm not certain Webb's place is necessarily as full-blown VP. He'd have to answer for a lot more than foreign policy in that position.

I think there is room for more than one person as a spokesperson for the campaign, though. While too many people would cloud the message, using multiple allies specifically for their strong points speaks well to Obama's judgment.

There's plenty of time to select a vice-president, and having such powerhouse advisors/surrogates as Webb, Edwards, Biden, Richardson, etc would be completely overwhelming to a Republican party whose only strong member right now is John McCain.

I like Webb as a VP but I don;t like giving up a senate seat that we may not get back.

He is a dynamic force and I've liked him ever since I lived in VA a while back.   Webb strikes me as angry and stiff, though I like his politics and he deserves praise for knocking off George what's his name?

Why isn't Tim Kaine mentioned more often?  He was a very early Obama supporter, he's term limited as Gov of VA and one would think he'd help in VA without weakening the Dems in the Senate.

I like Webb but agree with those mentioning his Tailhook scandal as a deal killer.  

I like Richardson but wish he was more of an ass-kicker.  Too nice.

I like Rendell or anyone from Ohio.

I think any woman other than Hillary would be looked at as a token pick and would be viewed as insulting to Hillary and woman in general.

I wouldn't pick Hillary either but in the spirit of unity won't go into detail.    

And there are likely dozens of names we haven't considered.  Remember, Obama is already a "rock star" and so this pick doesn't need to be a big, common name.  

I'm growing more and more fond of Schweitzer as VP. Of course, I'm now open to a unity ticket as well (after months of rejecting the idea), even though I still find the idea problematic. But, I recognize that a unity ticket is very important to some of Hillary's most loyal supporters, and she's certainly earned serious consideration by her great second-half performance.

But, I wish there would be more discussion of Schweitzer. Poblana at 538 had a great piece on this possibility yesterday, and I recommend everyone take a few moments to learn more about him.  

He hates being on the trail, as I've been told by someone with extensive interaction with his campaign. Even if it weren't for all the rest, that kind of makes him a bad pick.

But he's a fine Senator from Virginia, a state that will now, it seems, be fielding two Dems instead of two Republicans. I'm pretty happy about that and I think it's a fine state of affairs.

At this point, I really don't care who Obama picks as VP.  It won't be Hillary and it shouldn't be because Hillary is the BETTER of the two.

Except for reading MyDD to get my news, I think I'll go to "sleep" until November.

I never could actually listen to Barack at any great length and was changing the channel when he was on before.

Now it's 24 hours of "Family Guy" for me. hahahahahaha  Now THAT'S reality.

but in the era of women being upset, Webb may not be the best choice.

If women were really behind Obama right now than Webb would be my choice for VP.  But since Obama has some work to do, Webb may have to make Obama work harder.

I think a better choice for Obama is Clark since he would help bridge the 2 sides of the party together.

Bound to be part of the discourse, but here's how I see this whole 'event'

Headlines: "Obama has lunch at the Olde Abbot Inn, is seen talking to the chef, to be new White House culinary chief?"

Folks, we can't speculate about how every contact Obama has between now and Denver has hidden 'meaning'.  It'll drive us nuts, the teevee pundits into a froth and get us nowhere in the end.

I still don't like the idea of Webb as VP candidate.  He has too much of an embarrassing paper trail, including some racy novels with misogynistic dialogue.  He's also a former Republican and as soon as the digging starts it's likely that dozens of statements will turn up representing former Webb positions, vigorously expressed and from the not to distant past, that are in outright conflict with Obama's positions.  He seems like a lightning rod to me.  And I don't agree that we need some sort of attack dog in the VP slot.  I would prefer a competent, professional, low-profile, somewhat unexciting number two.  Obama is going to be the front-and-center star of this campaign.

Man, nobody goes to Bristol; it's a long way from anywhere.  I know - I used to live there.

That's firmly in south-central Appalachia - a good place to show he's serious about reaching out to the sorts of voters he lost in the WV and KY primaries.

But it's tough country for Obama.  It's just across the state line from upper east Tennessee, which has to be the most conservative part of the state.  

Should be interesting to see what sort of turnout and response he gets down there.

My gut feeling tells me that Obama is going to pick someone like Webb. Psychologically, Obama is an X gen. and a Democrat.

What does this mean? As an X gen. he does not want to be told what to do. Since so many people have been urging him to pick Clinton or another woman as VP, he will resist the idea. As a Democrat, he will be prone to pick a senator from the South who can help him win a state. Jim Webb fits that profile.

My brain tells me that Obama is going to win. The numbers seem to confirm this. My gut feeling tells me that McCain is headed toward a tremendous upset win. My gut feeling tells me that this is the one year where the VP pick is going to make the difference. My gut feeling tells me that McCain will respond with Obama's pick by picking either Sarah Palin, Condoleeza Rice or Meg Whitman as his Vice Presidential choice. My gut feeling tells me that this will be a winning strategy.

So lets see which is smarter, my brain or my guts.

If the polls start to move substantially in his direction in the next few weeks he can pick anyone. If they don't, his best bet is Clinton. The decision will be made on the basis of political math not knee jerk emotions.

I agree that as a VP, Webb would be a great choice because of his strength on Iraq and prowess in aggresively handling the media.

Not sure how he is as a back-up President.  But as a VP in day-to-day stff, he has the chops.

As far as outreach to women, Obama will make up ground with them on his own, and with Michelle's advantages.  He is actually a good fit once they give him a good solid look.

Webb would help with the couch-potato tough-guy class who get off of labelling the Democratic candidate as some kind of freakish wuss (Maureen Dowd I'm farting in your general direction!).  Plus he has a great grasp of the military and I think he would be a good advisor in that capacity.

He'd also be a good pick for Sec Def.  And the guy to give Lieberman an atomic wedgie at the inaugeration.

Pretty well respected political observer out of VA says that Warner would be the best bet to turn VA blue.

http://www.museumofworldwarii.com/Images 2005/08Ikefdrlg.gif

FDR is shown here meeting with Ike in 1943.

He should know his military history better.  Also, FDR was in constant communication with his field generals while in D.C.

Considering he was in a wheelchair

Here are some of his travels.  http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/worl dwarii/a/wwiipost.htm

Is Webb being intentionally stupid for some reason?  Leaders don't go to the front.  Sheesh.  France?  What, was FDR going to be wheeled on to Omaha beach?  Eisenhower was back in the planning room -- you send your field commanders out.