Bad advice

By Jennifer J. Foster

Published: May 13, 2008

Obama supporter and CNN talker Tanya Acker just made arguably the worst suggestion of the primary season.

Asked who she thought would be an appropriate running mate for Barack Obama, Acker named U.S. Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA).

Give Webb’s Wiki bio a quick read through and count how many problems—and, by problems, I mean dealbreakers—you see just in that article.

Yes, it’s Wiki. But I think you get the point.

How many problems do you see? Count ‘em and point out what you think are the most glaring ones in comments.

The bottom line is that Obama, if he is the nominee, will need someone to shore up that much-ballyhooed white working-class vote, but also someone whose foreign policy background is strong without necessarily being overly heavy on the military front. Of course, if he could get a Colin Powell-type person as VP, that would be best: Military, well-respected, foreign policy, serious and experienced. Credible all around. But Powell is still a Republican—or, at least, he was the last time I checked.

Choosing a Jim Webb, who’s in his first term in the Senate, isn’t going to do anything to help Obama where the experience gap is concerned. Worse, it won’t do anything to inspire confidence in Obama’s judgment—and that may be more important for his general election bid in the long run.