Reading Jim Webb's Novel, And What It Says About His Defense Views

Everywhere Sen. Jim Webb goes, someone's asking him if he wants to be vice president.

The freshman Virginia senator's appearances on "Meet The Press" typically end with an attempt by the host Tim Russert to elicit a categorical statement of whether or not he'd like to be Sen. Barack Obama's running mate on the Democratic ticket. Webb usually tries his best to demure. "I've never had a conversation with Barack about any of this, so it's really out of line to speculate," he told Deborah Solomon in The New York Times Magazine on Sunday.

Webb, on paper, presents much that makes him look like an attractive prospect for the ticket: a Navy Cross-winning Marine veteran of Vietnam; a high-profile stint as Navy secretary in the Reagan administration; early and vocal opposition to the war in Iraq; a giant-killer reputation honed by unseating Sen. George Allen in 2006, and a man-in-a-hurry pace of legislative achievements -- most recent, a popular update to the Montgomery GI Bill, providing more benefits to U.S. troops. Unsurprisingly, Webb has attracted a bevy of speculation about his inclusion as a vice-presidential candidate for Obama, the likely Democratic candidate.

Even if Webb doesn't end up on the ticket -- for one, many on the left have rejected Webb for decades-old sexist comments about women in the military -- his perspective on defense issues will likely play a large role in the public debate.

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