Only Hours Away

Barack Obama hasn’t publicly announced his choice for vice president yet.

I know because his campaign has ensured me that I will be the first to hear.

Me and the millions of others who have texted “VP” to 62262 (OBAMA).

Chances are good that he will make the announcement in the next 18 hours since The World is expecting his choice to join him at a rally in Springfield, Illinois on Saturday.

So this is my last chance to share my thoughts on the Big Choice.

The conventional wisdom has lined up behind Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, who has the Washington experience and foreign policy credentials that some say are holes in the Obama resume that need to be filled.

Personally, I believe Biden would be a disappointing choice because he is too safe.

Granted, he’s run for president twice so his negatives are well-known and manageable. But the trouble is that he doesn’t bring anything that would energize the campaign.

Obama knows this choice will be analyzed and dissected more than anything he has said or done so far in the campaign. That includes his remarks about the bitterness of the working class and even his choice of pastor.

His choice needs to affirm his campaign theme of change and I don’t think Biden fits the bill.

I look for someone older and more experienced but not from the list of usual suspects.

Here is my list of eye-openers, holy-cows, and who-would-have-thoughts:

First of all, there’s Jim Webb, a first-term Senator from Virginia. CW has focused on the Commonwealth’s Gov. Tim Kaine as more likely but look at what Webb brings; decorated war hero (sound familiar?), experience at the Pentagon as an Assistant Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Army, and a Republican who switched sides to become one of the most-outspoken critics of George Bush. Obama could do worse.

You have to believe that Obama is seriously considering a Republican or at least someone with a strong record of working across the aisle. While he has pledged to bring a bipartisan approach to his administration, many independents and Republicans don’t see very much to suggest that in his record.

How do you think they’d feel if Olympia Snowe, a moderate Republican who has served on the Armed Services, Finance and Intelligence committees? She has earned the respect of leaders of both parties by developing a keen ability to craft legislative compromise without sacrificing principle.

But the 800 pound gorilla of long shots has got to be Colin Powell. Can you imagine?

The incredibly highly regarded career military man was dissed big time by the Bush administration. He’s made no secret of his regret about taking cooked evidence to the United Nations to make the case for war. What better way to restore his reputation than as a member of the administration whose greatest challenge will be cleaning up the mess that occurred on his watch?

Powell has said he’s not interested but come on. When a President calls on a member of the military for an assignment, no is not in the vocabulary. And this kind of invitation comes awfully close to that kind of conversation.

So there you have it. If one of these choices turn out to be right, be sure to say where you heard it first. If it turns out to be Biden or one of the other uninspiring choices bandied about by the prognosticators, well then what can I say? I’ll still support Obama but I’ll wonder if he’s truly the agent of change we are hoping for.