[Originally posted at Senate Guru.]
Senator Jim Webb was on Meet the Press this morning. His stated lack of interest in the Vice Presidency aside, Webb's most interesting commentary, in my opinion, was his use of the word "thinking."
On his G.I. Bill:
We, we started working hard on this bipartisan, nonpartisan, hopefully; we have now got 58 sponsors in the Senate, 300 sponsors in the House of Representatives, and a, and a good number of the, you know, the thinking Republicans have moved to us.
(Much more below the fold.)
On responsible Iraq withdrawal:
Well, I think what we need is the kind of leadership that knows how to aggressively pursue robust diplomacy, just as the Baker-Hamilton report and a lot of very strong Republicans from past administrations like Brent Scowcroft have, have said. There's a, there's a fair preponderance of people who have been thinking in this area who believe that you can put the right sort of diplomatic mechanisms in place so that we can withdraw our troops.
Senator Webb uses the word "thinking" not just as an action but as a category of people in government and politics. Some just talk, parroting talking points, adding nothing. And some think in order to achieve sensible ends. The uses of this word is especially stark for me in light of the instance earlier this week when Chris Matthews caught one such conservative bloviator parroting talking points without thinking, without having any discernible knowledge base for his commentary. Webb's "thinking" adds to my desire for an Obama-Webb ticket. Webb wouldn't just crush McCain's running mate in a debate with muscle, he would out-think him. And I think he would both complement Obama best and be an outstanding Vice President.