Democrat Senator Jim Webb: House Passage To Repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Disrespects Military

CNN.com:

The results of the review will not be available until December but in an apparent acknowledgement that they may not have sufficient votes to support a repeal after this November’s midterms, the White House and Democrats on Capitol Hill moved forward last week with efforts to pass a law that would repeal the policy. The House approved the provision as part of a larger defense spending bill and the Senate Armed Services Committee also approved the measure. The legislation, if passed, would not take effect until the military’s internal review is completed; it also requires the president, Gates, and Mullen to sign off on the policy change.

Notwithstanding these measures intended to defer to the Pentagon, Sen. Jim Webb, D-Virginia, still faulted the legislative moves to fast track the repeal.

“I was really disappointed in - in the way that this process was accelerated. I was the only Democrat that voted against this in committee markup,” Webb said in an interview aired Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.

Webb, himself a Vietnam veteran and a former Secretary of the Navy, sits on the Senate Armed Forces Committee and is the Chairman of the Armed Forces Personnel Subcommittee.

“I believe we had a process in place. And to preempt it in some ways, showed a disrespect for the people in the military,” Webb told CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley.

“They should not have done this,” Webb added.

They'll do anything they can to complete the radical-Leftist Obama agenda before November.

No Dems Clamoring To Be Barack's VP

Hmmm . . . seems to be an interesting dichotomy that's developed here:

On Wednesday, Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri shook her head and cut off a question about whether Obama or his team had asked her for documents to review. "I'm not going to talk about it," she said.

Responding to the same question, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius issued a statement, saying: "The decision and timetable for the best person to help Sen. Obama lead the country is entirely up to him. All of us who support Sen. Obama have been asked to direct questions about his choice for vice president to the campaign."

A few others indicated they hadn't been approached, including Delaware Sen. Joe Biden. He said he is not seeking the job but also indicated he couldn't turn it down if asked. Still, he said: "I made it clear to him and everybody else, I never worked for anybody in my life. I got here when I was 29. I never had a boss. I don't know how I'd handle it."

So while John McCain has Mitt Romney, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Mike Huckabee, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal all on the campaign trail talking about what a great guy he is (and obviously eager to show that they each deserve a chance at the VP spot). the same can't be said for Barack Obama. Indeed, most recently, media faves Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, Senator Jack Reed, Senator Jim Webb and former Gov. Mark Warner have all pulled their names from consideration to be second-in-command. And why is that? Could it be that the Democrat party still aren't as united behind their presumptive nominee as they'd like you to think they are? Or perhaps Democrats are running away from Barack because quietly they're not so sure he can actually win? Or perhaps, like Senator Biden alluded to, calling a black man "boss" just doesn't sit well with members of the party that's supposed to represent tolerance. Of course, there's always Billary.

Jim Webb Says No To Obama VP Spot

Newsmax.com:

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., removed his name from consideration Monday as a potential vice presidential running mate for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

“Under no circumstances will I be a candidate for Vice President,” Webb says in a written statement.

“Last week I communicated to Sen. Obama and his presidential campaign my firm intention to remain in the United States Senate, where I believe I am best equipped to serve the people of Virginia and this country,” he writes.

"Webb, a former Navy secretary who was elected to the senate a year and a half ago, goes on to explain, “I entered elective politics because of my commitment to strengthen America's national security posture, to promote economic fairness, and to increase government accountability. I have worked hard to deliver upon that commitment, and I am convinced that my efforts and talents toward those ends are best served in the Senate.”

With his renowned military experience and his recently being selected as the Democrat spokesman to the President's State of the Union speech, I had Webb as a favorite to be Obama's VP. Plus with his earlier bouts of Bush Derangement Syndrome, you just know that Webb would've been a hit with the loons. In other words, Webb taking his name out of consideration is a huge blow to Barack Obama.

Will Barack Pick Jim Webb For VP?

The more I think about it, the more it just makes sense to me. Jim Webb has the foreign affairs/military experience that Senator Obama so sorely lacks (and badly needs against McCain). Webb's a moderate Democrat who supports gun-owners' rights, yet he'd still appeal to the lunatic wing since he's had his own bout of Bush Derangement Syndrome. And I suspect that he'd even appeal to most white, racist Hillary supporters because, well...he's white (not that Barack has much of a choice there since Barack is the only black guy in the Senate, but you get the drift). Reihan Salam of The Atlantic agrees:

As Barack Obama considers his vice presidential options, he would be very wise to take Jim Webb seriously. By now the idea that Webb could help Obama connect with the Scots-Irish voters of Greater Appalachia is familiar to most of those who follow the presidential horse race. And Webb's military experience, together with his years in Ronald Reagan's Pentagon, give him national security expertise that few leading Democrats can match. Yet there is another reason the Virginia Senator would make an excellent vice presidential nominee. As he's demonstrated this week, Webb can be a masterful legislative tactician.

Though no one will ever mistake Webb for a gladhanding backslapper, he has mobilized an extraordinary coalition of Democrats and Republicans behind a dramatic expansion of veterans' educational benefits. After passing by an overwhelming margin in the House, Webb's Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act won 75 votes in the Senate. Because the measure was attached to the Democrats' Iraq War spending bill, which included a number of other spending proposals favored by Democrats and opposed by the Bush White House, there is good reason to believe that the entire package will be vetoed. But there is also good reason to believe that something like Webb's proposal will eventually be made law, thanks in no small part to the measure's overwhelming popularity among veterans and military families.