Joseph A. Palermo: Obama-Webb 2008

Now that just about everyone has finally figured out that Senator Barack Obama is the right leader for America at the this crucial moment in our history and that he is going to be the Democratic Party's nominee for president in 2008, we can now turn to the issue of who might make the best running mate.

It is guaranteed that John McCain's campaign will take a page from the George W. Bush-Karl Rove playbook and "Swift Boat" Obama as "unfit" to be Commander-in-Chief just as they did to John Kerry in 2004.

The Mayberry Machiavellians who run McCain's slime machine will attempt to paint a picture in the minds of voters of Obama as being an effete, "out of touch," arugula-chomping civilian who doesn't have the mettle to inspire the troops and keep American safe and secure.

McCain has nothing else to run on.

McCain is playing the role a Vice President would normally play: Running for Bush's third term. But since Dick Cheney is far too odious to run in his own right McCain has leapt for the chance. He is running for more war, more tax breaks for the rich, more $4-a-gallon gas, and more lobbyists drawing up our public policy in Washington.

Obama can blunt the McCain-Rove plan of attack by shoring up his Commander-in-Chief credentials with a running mate whose military bona fides are beyond reproach.

Who would be a better choice to stymie McCain's "weak on national security" narrative than a running mate who served as President Ronald Reagan's Secretary of the Navy?

The junior Senator from Virginia, James Webb, was swept into the Senate with other Democratic critics of the Iraq occupation in 2006 -- defeating Republican George "Macaca-Boy" Allen. Webb is a 1968 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who served as a First Lieutenant in the Marine Corps until 1972 and is a decorated Vietnam veteran (just like McCain). He has a Navy Cross, a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts. And unlike John Kerry in 2004, "Swift Boating" Webb won't be an easy task for three reasons: 1). We've seen that movie before; 2). Obama is not John Kerry; and 3). To smear Webb would call into question the judgment of the Gipper himself. I would like to see John McCain go to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley and tell the Republican faithful that their iconic leader chose a latte-drinking pansy to serve as the civilian head of the U.S. Navy.

Senator Webb called Bush's invasion of Iraq "the greatest strategic blunder in modern memory." He has a son in the Marines who served honorably in Iraq, and he holds spots on several defense-related Senate committees including the Armed Services Committee. He also serves with Obama on the Foreign Relations Committee. In the Senate he has been a tireless advocate for veterans and has called for an orderly withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

Not only could Webb nullify McCain's attacks on Obama as "soft" on defense, he is from Virginia, which is a swing state that could help Obama win in November.

There might be other choices for running mate who could help Obama in a key state or two or shore up his response to McCain's inevitable smears, but for now James Webb appears to be the wisest choice. If Webb forfeited his Senate seat to become Obama's running mate Virginia's Democratic Governor Tim Kaine could appoint an interim replacement and protect the Democrats' majority in the Senate.