would disqualify themselves if they're their party's nominee for Senate. Also Gilmore's presidential campaign was a joke, even in Virginia. A guy that can't get elected dogcatcher won't be on anyone's shortlist. In fact, I think Gilmore on the ticket would make the Republican nominee less likely to win Virginia....seriously!

If Obama is the nominee Kaine will be rumored to be on the short list, but it'll be just that...a rumor. His reward for being one of Obama's earliest backers will be the "buzz" associated with the veepstakes, making his political stock go up. That was Tom Vilsack's reward for helping Kerry win the Iowa caucus in 2004. I just think a guy still in his first term as Senator won't pick a guy still in his first term as Governor. But I could see Obama taking a southerner.

Webb makes the most sense of any Virginian, which has been discussed ad nauseam. His military career, both on the battlefield and in the Pentagon, make his scant experience in elective office less of an issue.

and I also think Wes Clark will be on everyone's short list as well.

I dont want to get in an argument with Wes Clarkians... sorta like starting it with Ron Paul people... but Wes Clark has ALOT of baggage that would tear down any serious bid for the presidency.

I strongly disagree with this remark.  Actually, I find it highly offensive to have Wes Clark compared in any way, shape or form to Ron Paul.  What "baggage" are you talking about?  I worked on the Draft Wesley Clark campaign and am not aware of anything negative that has ever been substantiated about Clark, except for grumblings by a few rival generals who were jealous of Clark's success, felt that he was too "political" (whatever THAT means), or spread defamatory rumors of vague "character" problems -- that they never defined, of course.  The front page of RK is certainly NOT the place to continue that smear campaign.  To the contrary, we should be strongly promoting General Wesley Clark as a terrific candidate for Vice President, a man who is extraordinarily qualified in the national security and foreign policy arenas, and a perfect complement to any of the Democrats' front runners.

I compared the enthusiasm that his supporters have to that of Ron Paul supporters which I think is a very good comparison.

...this is PERSONALLY insulting to me and to the many other dedicated Clark supporters  -- several of whom are good friends of mine -- here in Virginia. 

It wasn't a personal comment.  He didn't aim it ay you.  He said you guys were very vocal supporters, and you are.  He didn't mean to offend anybody.

I echo Lowell about your lack of knowlede or insight into Wes Clark or his supporters.  As one who knows him and his positions well, he would lend the kind of credibility to any ticket that is sorely needed.  His "predictions" about the actions taken in foreign policy and military matters have been 100% right on for years.  His wisdom and vision would be a fantastic asset for our country.  What many who don't bother to look into don't know is that Wes knows many issues as well as he knows the FP and military.  He's an economics major, has expertise and interest in environmental and technology matters, and he's a statesman extraordinaire.  The list of what he knows and does well is too long to put here.

James Martin, your comments are demeaning and frankly, make you appear a little ignorant and uninformed. 

James, we need to talk.

Given the charges of antisemitism and general lunacy regarding Paul's supporters, that comparison is out of line.  And the word "baggage" in that context is a pretty loaded term.

I was a Clark supported in 2004 and knew a lot of the Clark team in Virginia -- they certainly are nothing like Paul's supporters.

smear campaign against Wes Clark in 2003, see here and here.

The comparison isn't one of politics- but one of devotion and enthusiasm for their candidate- If Wes Clark jumped off a bridge... :p

That one's kinda funny cause, as a young teen camp counselor in Arkansas, he was dared to jump off a bridge and he did it.  With Wes Clark's daily (to this day) swimming experience, his supporters would be there to hand him a towel when he got out of the water.  Oh yes, not only did he jump off a bridge as a young boy, but, in his new book "A Time to Lead:  Duty, Honor and Country", on page 179, he describes a trip taken with Richard Holbrooke, Peter Galbraith, various National Security, State Department and Pentagon officials.  They were at a small hotel in Croatia, high above the Adriatic.  At the age of 50, he and Joe Kruzel (Pentagon official) took the challenge of the hotel owner and climbed the railing of the balcony above the sea.  He describes it as follows, "But as we climbed, the water dropped farther and farther away.  And when we reached the balcomy, the water was way down there, and we were way up here.  Maybe we had been a bit too eager...But no, the fat was in the fire now, and we really couldn't back down.  So, I jumped, and Joe followed.  It was a long drop, but after we surfaced, we were truly gleeful."

I found that Wes Clark supporters tended to be very very very passionate- hard working- and intelligent people. That said- whenever anyone offers a ligitimate concern of a candidate- people are offended and jump on the attacker like he's a heretic?

Wes Clark does have alot of baggage- as does Hillary Clinton... Why is it ok for me to say she has baggage but not another candidate?

So far, nobody has offered any evidence of this.  Because there isn't any.

Doesn't mean it doesn't exist.  True, I've never seen it.  But it certainly is possible that it exists.

C'mon Dan.  You really think that it wouldn't have surfaced already?  Sure there have been attempts to smear, but each and every one has been repudiated by good and accurate research.  There are few men in politics with the clean record and integrity of Wes Clark. That's just the fact.

He's not going to be someone's running mate this time around. Case closed.

Who campaign for who?  Did Hillary come to Virginia and campaign for Webb?  No she was promising her voters that when re-elected to the Senate she would support them - But has spent 100% of her time running for President.

I believe I rememeber John Edwards getting pretty big crowds and campaigining for Webb.  Why is everything here so pro-Hillary vs Edwards?

Yes, I was at the Women for Webb event.  Also, Bill Clinton came and held a major fundraiser for Jim Webb.

and very likely would make a good VP, but he was a fairly weak campaigner. 

If, for example, Hillary won the nomination and wanted Webb on the ticket for his resume/positions/etc, she would need him to pull some serious weight to win over voters in the heartland and south.  That means world class campaigning to convince even some of that group that they should vote for Hillary based on the VP's qualifications.

Webb was a newcomer to political campaigning and its understandable that he wasn't an expert straight away.  But unless he learned quite a few lessons and made serious improvements the past year, I don't think he's got the campaigning mojo to bring home enough votes in the regions he'd be most needed.

Bottomline - Webb's positions and politics are great, his campaigning was lacking.  Resume alone isn't going to cut it - he'd need to sell himself much better if he's the VP.

He's grown a lot in the Senate.

What was really tough about the Webb Campaign was the infastructure.  It was slapped together pretty quickly, so I don't blame the staff at all.  They did great when you take into account the time and money they had.  But Webb has a certain charisma that makes you respect him immediately after speaking to him.