Oh, my, Sen. Webb!

July 3, 2008 12:15 am

MIGHT JIM WEBB go off script too often to serve as Barack Obama's running mate? Possibly. With fewer than two years in the U.S. Senate under his belt, does Mr. Webb lack the Washington gravitas to complement Mr. Obama's youthfulness? Perhaps.

There are legitimate reasons to question the wisdom of putting the suddenly high-flying Virginia senator on the national ticket. But not among them is his willingness to engage in debates that scare off less courageous and, to be honest, less intelligent politicians.

Mr. Webb's vociferous opposition to opening the doors of military academies to women in the late 1970s was well-documented during his Senate campaign of 2006. Somewhat less noticed was his nuanced description of the reasons why the South resorted to arms during the Civil War.

Many Americans would disagree with Mr. Webb on both counts. But that's no reason to sacrifice a refreshing example of candor, backed by well-informed argument, on the altar of political correctness.

Regarding Mr. Webb's opposition to women at Annapolis nearly three decades ago, some of his rhetoric, impugning the motives of young women, crossed the line. The fact that the senator has modified his views doesn't fully erase the impact of his earlier statements.

But the topic itself was a legitimate one then for healthy discussion. And the issues surrounding women in combat remain worthy of far more discussion today than they receive.

As for that still-raging battle over the causes of the Civil War, Mr. Webb has made some brows furrow by criticizing the "Nazification of the Confederacy." A descendant of Rebel officers, he has voiced sympathy for the notion of state sovereignty as it was understood in the early 1860s. Before Fort Sumter, remember, Massachusetts contemplated seceding from the Union.

Again, there's room to disagree with him on the subject. But let's hope that everyone who questions the orthodoxy that "the Civil War was exclusively about slavery" isn't automatically disqualified from office. Even Abraham Lincoln wouldn't support that characterization of the cause of the war.

There's no doubt Mr. Webb would bring a certain feistiness, appreciated in the nation's blue-collar precincts, to a ticket headed by the urbane Mr. Obama. It's an open question whether the Webb pluck would be a plus in a job that requires deference to the ticket mate.

Whatever the decision on the VP slot, let's hope the political realities of the campaign trail don't snuff out the candor that's so sorely needed in today's political life.