Veteran James Jones Surfaces On Obama VP List

So you think you know who's on Obama's veep short list? Well, think again. According to sources on the Hill, Obama veep vetters -- specifically Jim Johnson and Eric Holder -- have been asking Dem members of Congress this week their input about potential running mates. The conversations are free-flowing but one name the vetters are inserting in the conversations is one that is not a household name... Ret. Gen. James Jones, the former Marine-turned-NATO Supreme Allied Commander.

Jones, a Vietnam vet born in Kansas City, MO (swing state alert!), was a career military officer rising to one of the highest posts possible. Now retired, Jones has been critical of the number of troops currently in Afghanistan. He's been appointed to independent posts by both the Democratic Congress and the Republican-run State Department.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[GravitonX]

Military types aren't too good in the political spotlight. Remember Admiral Stockdale? That was painful.

[kawika]

Before Jones, think Dan Inouye.

[smokeystover39]

Webb YES, Jones NO!!

[kawika]

Inouye, Medal of Honor awardee, Defenses Comittee, Inteligence, and appropriations , will not run for anything after 2012.

[dr4Will]

just what he needs---another war monger---people of peace can stop war, not Generals!!!

[riverhouse]

Hard to imagine Obama choosing a military industrial complex kind of guy.

[vinny]

big mistake to put military types in the line for POTUS

[MRb1000]

THIS MAY BE A SMART MOVE BECAUSE THIS GUY WILL BE LOYAL TO HIM! HE COULD TRUST HIM.

[katzooks]

A highly intelligent man, whose foreign policy statements are as easily digested as the most densely esoteric of legal documents you can possibly imagine, Jim Jones is a bastion of the military-industrial complex and carries, at the very least, a whiff of neocon influence. Reading parts of his "Report of the Independent Commission about Security Forces of Iraq" (http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/isf.pdf) I am struck, not only by his intensely thorough grasping of the subject, but by the elephants in the room, throughout.

For instance, when discussing the *successes* of the surge, there is virtually zero mention of Muqtada al-Sadr's ceasefire. And when he discusses permanent US military occupation of Iraq - aka the "status of forces agreement" -- it's as if this were a given all along (which comes as no surprise to many of us). One of the goals in this, he states, is to reinforce "that we are not occupiers of Iraq," (huh?) while in the next section, he discusses to the need to "demonstrate evidence of Iraqi national sovereignty" though efforts such as placing Iraqi flags outside our bases. Seems to me the goal for many Iraqis, were they ever to realize a truly democratic society, would be for the U.S. to just get the hell out of Iraq.

Having said that, here's a nice bio thingie on Jim Jones. Humanizes the man behind the machine a bit. http://palestine-mandate.com/2007/11/palestine/119

[foodtube]

If Obama picks a military man, I will not vote.

[dadw5boys]

Jones is one you can trust to protect the constitution !!!!!!

[tds1273]

I have even more trust in Dennis Kucinich to protect the Constitution; should he VP?

...well yes, but you see my point... :-P

[liberal1976]

Has anyone thought of Lincoln Chafee? He's a former Republican. He was against the war, pro choice, pro environment, etc.

[tds1273]

Secretary of the Interior; he does have a wonderful record on the environment.

However:

Obama/Lincoln

Heh, that's not too bad....

[loax]

Here is another with great potential. With his background he can help get us out of these damn wars that mccain wants to continue with to make himself and his buddies rich!

[lbrillante]

No thanks... this guy looks scary. I know nothing about him and sense that I would not want him in charge should anything happen to Senator Obama. Senator Dodd would be excellent. Senator Biden would also be good. I see that Bill Richardson is not on the list... John Edwards has refused the position (he was my first pick).

[cultkicker]

God help us if Obama puts a military man on his ticket. He's a heartbeat away from the PRESIDENCY for God's sake. Did this man EVER stand up to Bush... did he EVER stand up against the Iraq war? He wants MORE soldiers in Afghanastan. He's just another warmonger in democrat clothing!

[dadw5boys]

JONES IS ONE OF THE BEST MILITARY MEN ALIVE.

HE TOLD LBJ TO GET OUT OF VIETNAM!!!!!!

[Okieborn]

cultkicker YOU COULD BE RIGHT !!
YIKES AND DOUBLE YIKES !!!

[spy3811]

TONY ZINNI!

[dana94591]

At least he will come with military background and some international policy expertise. I applaud him for thinking outside the box. I would never come up with this guy! Who is he???

[stopwar]

Here is all we need to know about Jones: Condy Rice twice asked him to be Depty Secty of State. In other words, they thought he fit in with the Bush Administration.

He turned them down both times, but not with a statement saying he wouldn't be part of what they were doing. As i recall, Caesar also turned down the crown a couple times.

If Obama is going to pick a military officer, he should take one that Bush and Rumsfeld fired.

[Wonderwheel]

In what way did Jones ever stand of to Bush? Zinni and Shinseki at least stood up to Bush. If you want to put a general on the ticket, at least pick one who spoke up against Bush.

[Jenster]

Are these potential VP's an attempt at "speak softly and carry a big stick"?