It sounds to me like Webb is the perfect pick.

(1) He was in the military, which cancels out some if not most of McCain's narrative. It allows Obama to point out McCain's "support" of the troops is B.S. if he rejects the G.I. Bill, which Webb is pushing.

(2) Webb allows us to get out of Iraq without looking weak, since he is former military and his son served. He has seen combat and can approach the issue from that perspective.

(3) He owns guns. This is great, since it prevents the "Obama's gonna steal your gun" argument.

(4) Okay, so he doesn't appear all warm and fuzzy to the feminists. Who cares? Are they going to stay home? Vote for McCain? No. They will not risk turn the Supreme Court over to a Republican when they know that Ginsburg is on the way out. Some of the crying Hillary supporters are nuts but they are not crazy. He also will cast a glow of masculinity onto Obama, which prevents the emasculating glow that his wife sometimes puts off (not b/c she is strong woman) but because she can't talk about him without putting him down.

I am ready to vote. Point the direction.

I agree with most of what you say, Webb's got a lot of upside, but Noah's right that Webb's rogue temper could be a problem, not during the election, but as VP. Being a conservative democrat, he might do Obama some major damage if there's a split on policy (you know, how Obama has so many "hard Left" positions, which in any country other than America would be considered to the Right of Augusto Pinochet). Its the same reason Clinton would be a bad pick, they've both got their own agendas, and Obama is going to need all the help he can get.

Personally, though, I think Noah missed the second-biggest reason Webb's a problem as VP: he's a terrible public speaker. He mumbles. He often looks like he doesn't know what to say. Check out some of the YouTube stuff on him. In real life I like people who look as honest as Webb, but most voters don't. Any country that would RE-elect George W. Dumbass can't be trusted to vote for someone who isn't slick.

I have never seen Webb speak in public, so I cannot speak about his ability or inability to carry a point to an audience. I have however heard him speak in interviews and seems to do a fine job.

But more importantly, I do not think there would be a public disagreement. As someone who is left of Obama on almost every issue, I think Webb's presence would be good for his electability, and if it prevents ridiculous gun laws then all the better.

Also

(5) Webb could only come across as a "good ol' boy" which is a good thing for the white Hillary voters that are not female, and therefore may switch to McCain.

All I know is my liberal Democrat mother and my conservative Republican father BOTH like Jim Webb. That has to count for something.

It bears mention that Jim Webb is junior Senator from Virginia only because then-Sen. George Allen stupidly stepped on his own "macaca" while campaigning. The polls had Sen. Allen cruising until that point.

Also, there is no certainty at all that Sen. Webb can deliver Virginia - allegedly in play in the general election - to the Democratic column. His support in the state wained right out of the box, once he proved himself unable to be civil to the President. He is largely invisible in the Senate, and his politics are to the left of Virginians' overall.

All it would take is one incident where Sen. Webb came across as a combative bastard, rather than a seasoned politician, and Sen. Obama would regret his choice. I agree with the author that there's too much potential downside in choosing Sen. Webb.

Senator Webb is awesome. I moved right before he ran for Senate, and he has the right temperament to deal with politics. People call it raw aggression, and I ask, what is wrong with injecting some passion and honest discourse into politics? He is a good balance to Obama's relative passivity imho.

Rogue temper? What rogue temper. The most recent articles about him in the New York Book World and the New Republic show a man with an extraordinary amount of self control. Even when John Warner stabbed him in the back in front of the Senate last year after promising his support for the dwell time amendment Webb kept his temper in check. He's intense, yes, but he's always about getting his job done. Like the exceptional Marine he was he will set aside his personal feelings if that's what it takes to get legislation passed and his work completed.

Webb is a media darling and great in interviews. His public speaking has signficantly improved, and his State of the Union response (on youtube) is widely seen as a fantastic speech.