From tomorrow's 'NYT': Jim Webb on the Veep Race

Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia, prominently mentioned as a vice presidential candidate running with Barack Obama, responds in The New York Times tomorrow to those estimates. He says, "I've never had a conversation with Barack about any of this, so it's really out of line to speculate."

What he has talked to Obama about: that neither used ghost writers on their recent books. "We write our own stuff," Webb observes.

He does rule out Wesley Clark and Colin Powell as V.P. candidates, however, asserting that, "I don't think anyone who's running for president would realistically choose someone who's never held elected office." He adds that a nominee for president is "going to want someone on your ticket who's demonstrated he can get votes." He notes that Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio, another V.P. contender, had earlier been elected to a House seat, hails from "an important state" and is "well-regarded."

Asked about the criticism often aimed at Webb -- his intensity -- Webb replies simply, "I've been accused of being intense."

In the Times Magazine interview, Deborah Solomon wonders if Webb's one victory for office really "deepened" him that much. He replies that running for office "was one of the most brutal things I've ever been through," citing the name-calling and "the whole attempt to destroy your personal credibility. That's the Karl Rove approached."

Do you have a gun on you now? Solomon wonders. A bit cryptically, Webb replies: "You don't know how safe you really are."
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Greg Mitchell's new book is So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President -- Failed on Iraq. It features a preface by Bruce Springsteen and a foreword by Joe Galloway.

Comments

[Entitled401er]

Obama has to do something- quickly- to counter his negative image as an elitist namby-pamby. He desperately needs to align himself with a tough, no-nonsense leader with proven military background if he hopes to capture the rank and file hard-working American public.

Webb can make his election viable.

[plebeianswillrevolt]

Webb is a downer, hyper-focused on vets, vets, vets.....

I would take Harry Reid or Wesley Clark. Webb is maybe good for dogcatcher.

[JamieStarr]

Webb is a downer, but you'd rather have Harry Reid?!

Come on. Good guy and all, but not exactly a dynamic personality.

It's Strickland, Richardson or Hagel. Not by personal favorites, but Strickland locks down Ohio, Richardson helps with his western state strategy or Hagel reinforces the anti-war, change, post-partisan theme.