Kathy makes a definitive case. The risk of giving up a red state Senate seat has to create a strong presumption against it, and it just isn’t the job for him. Under the circumstances, choosing someone with Webb’s history of sexism seems like an especially bad idea. I have been skeptical that Clinton’s supporters (as opposed to her staff) won’t get over it if she’s not on the ticket (which is good, because picking her has a lot of negatives), but surely many Clinton supporters wouldn’t find Webb acceptable, and they’d have a point. Webb’s past comments don’t make him unacceptable as a red-state Senator, but in the wider universe of good VP candidates this should rule him out.
—Scott Lemieux
