NewMexiKen believes Barack Obama will select a governor or retired general as his running mate, not another senator. Be that as it may (and my prognostication skills have proven sadly lacking before), Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) makes every list.
But is Webb a Confederate sympathizer? David Mark suggests that might be the case at Politico. Mark begins:
Barack Obama’s vice presidential vetting team will undoubtedly run across some quirky and potentially troublesome issues as it goes about the business of scouring the backgrounds of possible running mates. But it’s unlikely they’ll find one so curious as Virginia Democratic Sen. Jim Webb’s affinity for the cause of the Confederacy.
Webb is no mere student of the Civil War era. He’s an author, too, and he’s left a trail of writings and statements about one of the rawest and most sensitive topics in American history.
He has suggested many times that while the Confederacy is a symbol to many of the racist legacy of slavery and segregation, for others it simply reflects Southern pride.
James Fallows deconstructs Mark:
… Moreover, the article that “uncovers” this startling fact is written in classic and depressing Beltway “could be perceived as problematic” style. It doesn’t flat-out say that there is anything wrong or illegitimate in Webb’s views.
…And after all: we’re discussing scenarios in which the first black major party nominee might choose Webb as his running mate. Somehow this would “have the potential” of conveying a pro-Confederate tilt?
Webb has pretty much made the point that he respects the fighting courage of Confederate soldiers, and their belief in state sovereignty. It isn’t slavery and slaveholders that most of them fought for he argues. Webb got 85% of the black vote in the 2006 Virginia election.
Thanks to Byron for the link. Interesting stuff.