So there’s been a lot of talk about Jim Web joining with Obama as his VP. As they always are, Webb is being coy about whether he’s interested and dodges the question as best he can, and that’s fine. But as I think about who Obama is and what gaps he may have, it really seems Webb is a perfect choice.

From Wikipedia:

A 1968 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Webb served as a Marine Corps infantry officer until 1972, and is a highly decorated Vietnam War combat veteran. During his four years with the Reagan administration, Webb served as the first Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, then as Secretary of the Navy.

Basically, he’s John McCain except he’s against the war and he’s from the sorta-South (Virginia now being a “purplish” state). Obama’s biggest drawbacks are basiclaly that he’s black, drinks lattes, and drives a Volvo. At least that’s my understanding. Webb complements him really well in that he’s white, he seems more of a coffee and pick-up type of a guy. Obama is a pretty classic Democrat liberal and Webb’s a conservative Democrat. He’s conservative in a way that a lot of independent-minded voters would probably like, especially gun control and national security.

They say that the VP doesn’t actually mean a lot in Presidential elections, but it seems like it could really help voters on the fence or otherwise uncomfortable with Obama. From MSNBC (h/t), a video of Webb discussing several issues, including his new GI Bill, which seems awesome, as well as a frank discussion of race from a white perspective:

He draws an important parallel between poor whites and blacks, which I think is a valid thing to do. Hard core racism has been slowly declining, as well as homophobia and sexism, thankfully, but economic inequality, which seems like the biggest problem, hasn’t improved at all. I’m still not the populist that either Obama or Webb are, but I think they’re on the right track.