An open letter to Sen. Barack Obama

The following is an open letter to Barack Obama. First, kudos on finally getting the nomination. That was a struggle, wasn’t it?

Now comes a very important decision, whom to pick for your running mate. You are in luck, for I have the perfect choice for you. No, it’s not Hillary. There are roughly 87 zillion reasons why she wouldn’t work well as your running mate, though you certainly want her to campaign for you. There is one obvious choice for your number two, Sen. Jim Webb of VA.

He is right for you in so many ways. First, choosing him puts Virginia in play for the Democrats for the first time in decades. It’s become sort of a purple state lately. Putting Webb on the ticket will push it over the brink. Second, Se. Webb is a former Republican and even served under Ronald Reagan. He'll set just the right tone for you - a military hawk who nevertheless thought the war in Iraq was a bad idea. That will give McCain and the right wing talk show hosts fits. How can Rush and O’Reilly say you don’t know anything about foreign policy when you have Webb on your team. In all candor, there are a lot of moderates who are with you on the domestic and social issues. Nevertheless, they aren’t yet convinced that you are the right person to handle a foreign policy crisis. Adding Webb can change all that.

Although I am a big fan of Sen. Webb, even I realize he has some flaws. He comes off as a bit intense and prickly, and he’s not the best campaigner. Well, you are probably the best campaigner since Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan, so you don’t need any help in that area. You will need to have a heart to heart with Sen. Webb about not going too far off the reservation. But choosing him will also show that you aren’t afraid to have strong personalities in your Administration. When he criticizes the Bush – McCain bunch for their foreign policy missteps, he’ll be taken seriously.

I’m no fan of Dick Cheney, but I think it was a masterstroke for GWB to choose him as his running mate. In the 2000 campaign, Bush’s biggest negative was that he was perceived as a lightweight (correctly, as we now know). Choosing Cheney, a longtime DC insider and perceived hero of the first Gulf War largely fixed all that. That decision was one of the few good ones that GWB made. Don’t be afraid to follow his example this one time.

I hope you’ll accept this recommendation in the spirit with which it is given. Best of luck to you.