Virginia Democratic Senator, and oft named possible VP candidate for Senator Obama, Jim Webb, recently signed on to bill that supports off-shore drilling for oil. This is the same proposal that both President George W. Bush and Senator John McCain have been touting all week.
Senator Webb, like Senator McCain, has an independent streak, but he picked an awfully curious time to show that streak. By endorsing this bill, he is distancing himself from his party's standard bearer, Barack Obama, as well as the party's leadership in Congress.
Webb, rightfully so, wants coastal states like his, Virginia, to have the right to explore for energy off-shore. It's a shame that other Democrats don't join him. He's right, the more oil that America can produce the less we are dependant on foreign sources. Republicans have been pushing this for years, but Democrats, and their close ties with environmentalist, have always stopped it.
Democrats instead, think that taxing oil companies is the right thing to do. Windfall profit tax is the term that is used. It was done back in the 70s and failed and only drove gasoline prices higher. I guess that Democrats think it will work this time. Maybe they don't think that gas prices are high enough.
It's Capitalism 101, supply and demand. But we wouldn't expect liberal Democrats to believe in Capitalism.
Anyhow, back to Senator Webb. Virginia is going to be a battleground state in November. Webb's name has been thrown around as a possible VP for Obama b/c Virginia is a swing state and b/c of Webb's national defense credentials.
With this one move though, he may have taken himself out of the running. With gas prices likely to be one of the top, if not the top, issues for November, Obama would be unwise to choose Webb as his running mate. One of two things would have to happen.
1. Webb would have to change his position on off-shore drilling. A major flip-flop on this major of an issue would certainly bring major criticism on Webb and Obama. Not likely.
2. Obama and Webb would have to agree to disagree. Again, not likely, given that a candidate for President of the United State and his handed picked running mate cannot, and will not, have opposing views on such a major issue. Every debate, every newstory would not only focus on the off-shore drilling issue (a losing issue for Democrats) but it would focus on the disagreement between the running mates.
Give Senator Webb credit, he has taken a stand against his party and he's right, off-shore drilling is the answer to the higher oil prices. But it looks like he's done so at the expense of possibly being our next VP.
Comforting to see a politican, a Democrat at that, make a stand on principle, not on ambition.
Good for you Jim Webb.
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