This seems to be my day for reading about veep choices.
An earlier thread on Gen. James Jones
is here.
At a time when Obama is slamming McCain
on offshore drilling:Obama and McCain also clashed over energy policies. McCain accused his Democratic opponent of recycling impractical ideas by supporting a tax on windfall oil company profits. Obama criticized his rival's proposed energy plan which called for an end to a federal moratorium on offshore oil drilling.
-snip
McCain's proposal to tap offshore reserves was a reversal from his position in his 2000 bid for the Republican presidential nomination, when he said he favored the existing ban.
Obama was quick to criticize McCain for switching positions on offshore drilling. "I think he continues to find himself being pushed further and further to the right in ways that in my mind don't show a lot of leadership," he said.
Obama also said there is "no way that allowing offshore drilling would lower gas prices right now. At best you are looking at five years or more down the road."
Jim Webb has decided to co-sponsor a Republican bill to drill offshore in Virginia.
Most Democrats, who control Congress, remain staunchly opposed to offshore drilling. They say it would do little to boost the nation's energy supply and do nothing to lower gas prices soon.
Although Warner's bill has been blocked for years, the Republican senator tried again Wednesday as he introduced his measure with Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., as a co-sponsor.
"I'll never give up," Warner vowed on the Senate floor. "Never, never, never will I give up."
Clearly, Obama wouldn't expect to base his veep choice on agreement over every single issue. However, I wonder about Webb's going off the reservation at a time like this. I know he often goes his own way, which one of the things I like about him, his independence, but I have wondered before if he is enough of a team player for veep.